Is Technology Enhancing or Eroding Human Agency?
Berlin (GER), October 2025 - As the promises and perils of AI reshape classrooms and workplaces alike, OEB Global 2025, the annual Global, Cross-Sector Conference and Exhibition on Digital Learning, will examine whether technology is enhancing or eroding human agency - and what that m eans for learning, leadership, and society.
Taking place from 3 – 5 December in Berlin, OEB brings together over 2,000 educators, policymakers, business leaders, and innovators from more than 70 countries. This year’s theme, “Humanity in the Intelligent Age: Empathy, Responsibility, and the Duty of Care,” explores how technology can strengthen, rather than weaken, human connection, creativity, and critical thought.
"We are entering a moment when technology influences not only what and how we learn, but how we think, decide and relate to each other," said Astrid Jaeger, Managing Director of CloserStill Media, organiser of OEB Global. "At OEB 2025 we’ll be asking what kind of intelligence we want to cultivate - artificial or human - and how education can help us balance both."
The full OEB 2025 agenda is available online, featuring over 120 sessions, 14 pre-conference workshops, and 10 thematic tracks exploring the ethical, social, and human dimensions of AI and digital transformation.
Among the key topics:
- Ethical and human-centred innovation in learning
- AI, data, and immersive technologies
- Personalised and skills-based education
- Workforce transformation and lifelong learning
- Psychological resilience and change
- The role of educators in an age of disinformation
Confirmed keynote speakers include:
- Maja Göpel, Political Economist and Transformation Expert
- Shafika Isaacs, Chief of Section: Technology and AI in Education, UNESCO
- Yong Zhao, Professor, University of Kansas
- Neil Selwyn, Professor, Monash University
- Andrew Maynard, Director, Future of Being Human Initiative, Arizona State University
- Avinash Chandarana, Chief Learning and Transformation Officer, MCI Group
- Kerri O’Neill, Chief People Officer, Ipsos UK
- Niall Winters, Socio-technologist and Founder, Openstrand
Alongside the conference, the OEB Exhibition will showcase global innovations in EdTech, learning design, and digital skills development - offering participants a chance to see how emerging technologies are being applied across education, business, and public-sector training.
