New Delhi, May 25 -- In the early 2000s, the 'digital divide' was framed as a developmental urgency. Countries like India were encouraged to digitize rapidly or risk being left behind.

Two decades later, the outcomes are more complex. While digital adoption enabled growth, today's evidence-including international assessments such as PISA-suggests that technology without pedagogical redesign does not improve learning outcomes and can weaken attention and deep thinking.

While large-scale evidence on AI in classrooms is still emerging, early experiences with digital adoption offer a cautionary signal.

This raises a basic question: How should AI be integrated into classrooms to strengthen learning? As AI is a compounding system shaped by d...