Presidential Plenary: AI and the Learning Sciences: Perspectives from Emerging Scholars & Closing Ceremony

Friday, June 19, 2026 12:30–2pm PST Room ALP 1300 As artificial intelligence rapidly transforms society, it brings both groundbreaking opportunities for education and severe risks—from environmental impact and structural inequities to the loss of humanism. This dynamic Presidential Session brings together a diverse panel of six international, emerging scholars to explore how the unique tools and lenses of the Learning Sciences can address these broader societal transitions. Through a series of rapid-fire lightning talks, the panelists will interrogate AI infrastructure through the lenses of social movements, global policy beyond the Global North, dialogic classroom gaps, critical colonial logics, multidisciplinary research methods, and educational justice. Designed for high engagement, the session leverages interactive Padlet brainstorming before the session begins, mid-session “Turn & Talk” reflections, and a fast-paced, curated Q&A driven directly by participant input. Join us to grapple with what the field is—and should be—saying about the future of AI. Message to Newcomers Welcome to an ISLS Tradition: The Presidential Session If you are one of the 45% of attendees joining us for your very first ISLS Annual Meeting—welcome to the community! As you navigate the program, you will notice one special event on the schedule, at the very end of the Annual Meeting: the Presidential Session. At every Annual Meeting, the current ISLS President has the unique opportunity to organize a featured session. It is a tradition designed to platform ideas, tensions, and questions that are vital to the future of our society and the field of the learning sciences as a whole. This year’s session is organized by our 2025–2026 ISLS President, Yotam Hod ( www.yotamhod.com ), a Professor at the University of Haifa who studies how we design humanistic, person-centered learning communities. Why This Topic? This year, the session focuses on a massive, civilization-wide shift: AI and the Learning Sciences: Perspectives from Emerging Scholars. While AI is already featured across many individual talks and posters at the Annual meeting, the Presidential Session is designed to focus our collective energy. AI is a profound game-changer, but it is a multi-edged sword—bringing incredible opportunities for learning alongside severe risks to structural equity, climate, and humanism. As a society, we cannot just react to these changes; we need to lead them. This session is our space to help carve out a coherent, proactive research agenda moving forward. The Design Thinking Behind the Session To model the core values of the learning sciences, this session isn’t a traditional, passive lecture. It is designed from the ground up for high engagement and diverse perspectives: Centering Emerging Voices: Instead of established career perspectives, the panel intentionally features six international, emerging scholars who are interrogating AI infrastructure through critical, diverse lenses—spanning global policy beyond the Global North, classroom dialogue, colonial logics, and educational justice. Interactive Design: We want to hear from you before the session even starts. We are leveraging an interactive Padlet workspace on Whova to gather community thoughts, which will feed directly into a mid-session “Turn & Talk” and a participant-driven Q&A. We look forward to seeing our newcomers and returning members alike come together to grapple with what our field should be saying about the future of AI!