Meet the OEB25 Speakers: Keynote Aruj Khaliq

We are delighted to welcome Aruj Khaliq as a keynote speaker for the OEB Annual Plenary Debate.

A Founder and AI Policy Advisor, Aruj works at the intersection of technology, ethics and public policy. Her research at the University of Oxford examines how intelligent systems influence human agency, while her advisory work in Pakistan supports the development of AI-ready education frameworks that safeguard what makes us human.

What was your first thought about this year’s conference theme “Humanity in the Intelligent Age: Empathy, Responsibility, and the Duty of Care”?

My first thought was that this theme — “Humanity in the Intelligent Age: Empathy, Responsibility, and the Duty of Care” — perfectly captures the moral and intellectual frontier my own work inhabits while raising pertinent questions around intelligent machines and their subsequent impact on our shared humanity. Drawing from my most recent research that I carried out at the University of Oxford, AI and human agency, I explored how technology can either expand or erode our capacity to act with empathy and moral intent. One of the significant results included highlighting the thinking machine paradox (as I liked to call it). Zooming back to the OEB25 theme, it constantly reminds me that intelligence, no matter how advanced, must remain accountable to the human condition.
Back home in Pakistan, through my work in academia and governance, and particularly in my AI advisory role with country’s Ministry of Planning and Development, I’ve led these questions to move from theory to policy. Whether drafting educational frameworks, advising on AI governance, or rethinking how schools prepare young people for the future, the same dilemma persists: how do we ensure that progress remains humane? So my first thought about this year’s theme was that it is not just timely — it is necessary. In an age of intelligent systems, our truest measure of progress is not how smart our technologies become, but how steadfastly we preserve empathy, responsibility, and care in the systems we build. Thus, it boils down to us – humans – guarding our humanity.

If you could look into the year 2045, what do you envision learning will be driven by?

If I look into 2045, I believe learning will be driven by what I call augmented humanity — futures where technology doesn’t replace us, but amplifies our capacity to think, empathise, and act with purpose. My exposure to academia and policy spheres constantly reminds me that the real question isn’t how intelligent machines can become, but how humane we can remain. So by 2045, I imagine classrooms where AI becomes the mirror of our empathy, not the measure of our intelligence — where learning is no longer about answers, but about conscience. That, I think, is the true evolution of education in the intelligent age.

Which learning technology has recently impressed you?

The learning technology that’s impressed me most recently is AI-enabled reading glasses for differently-abled children. What moves me is that they don’t make learning faster — they make it fairer. They give children the independence to read on their own, transforming assistance into agency. For me, this innovation proves a simple truth: the smartest technologies are those that make us more human.

Which book should everyone read?

If I could recommend one book everyone should read, it would be 1984 by George Orwell. Long before artificial intelligence, Orwell foresaw the dangers of a world where truth is programmed and empathy is obsolete. To me, 1984 is more than a warning — it’s a reminder that in the intelligent age, the most radical act of progress is to remain human.

What was your most significant learning experience?

As an intervention scientist and avid problem-solver, I am trained to inherently look for solutions for social causes. My most significant experience came from when I designed, led and successfully ECO Schools – which was Pakistan’s biggest nation-wide intervention focused on sustainability education. It taught me invaluable lessons for it helped me to actually use my Oxfordian qualification in a real-life setting.

Which question is asked too rarely when we talk about learning?

I think the question we rarely ask is: “Are we teaching people how to care?” We talk about innovation, assessment, and digital transformation — but we seldom ask how education shapes empathy, humility, and moral courage.

What would be the title of your autobiography?

I think I’d call it “Clouds in My Kaleidoscope.” It captures how I’ve come to see life — not as a fixed picture, but as shifting patterns of colour, light, and meaning. The clouds represent uncertainty, movement, and change; the kaleidoscope, the way perspective transforms everything we see.

Thank you, Aruj! Aruj Khaliq will be speaking at the OEB25 Annual Debate “This House believes that catering to shorter attention spans is dumbing down education” on Thursday, 4 December.