A Filipino educator specializing in the development, deployment, and impact measurement of AI innovations in Philippine schools has just been elected president of the International Artificial Intelligence in Education (IAIED) Society, which has over 1,500 members in 40 countries at the frontiers of computer science, education, and psychology.

Dr. Maria Mercedes “Didith” T. Rodrigo of Ateneo de Manila University will helm the IAIED Society from 2027 to 2029, bringing together experts from major research institutions worldwide—including Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Pennsylvania, University College London, the University of Hong Kong, and others—towards the research and development of AI-based learning interventions and environments that support learners, teachers, and educational institutions.

Dr. Rodrigo’s election adds to the Philippines’ presence within this international community. A professor in the Ateneo’s Department of Information Systems and Computer Science (DISCS), head of its Laboratory for the Learning Sciences, and co-head of the Ateneo Virtual, Augmented and Mixed Reality Lab, she studies AI in education, learning analytics, and educational games.

A large part of Dr. Rodrigo’s work is the examination of AI and equity: How can teachers, learners, and educational institutions in countries like the Philippines benefit from AI? In a 2024 study that she conducted with the Philippines’ Second Congressional Commission on Education, she and fellow researcher May Marie P. Talandron-Felipe interviewed 48 Philippine public-school teachers. They found enthusiasm for AI alongside limited knowledge, insufficient equipment, and connectivity problems. Their recommendations emphasized sustained training, suitable tools, and continued human involvement in decisions—practical requirements for making AI useful in classrooms with limited resources.

Dr. Rodrigo’s membership in the IAIED began in 2007, and she regards the AIED community as highly influential on her work and career. To her, the presidency is an opportunity to serve this community that has opened so many doors for her. As the first Asian woman to serve as IAIED president, her election is a milestone for the Ateneo and the Philippines as a whole.