AI in Welsh Education: Panel calls for balance between innovation and integrity

Nation Cymru staff

A panel of experts is set to gather on the Eisteddfod Maes for an event to explore the opportunities and challenges of using Artificial Intelligence in Welsh medium education.

Organised by the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol (the Coleg), the session will be chaired by Dr Cynog Prys, a Senior Lecturer in Sociology and Social Policy at Bangor University, and a specialist in minority languages in an increasingly digital world.

Joining him on the panel will be Dewi Bryn Jones, winner of the 2025 Science Medal for his contribution to the Welsh language in the digital sphere; Catrin Bradley, who used AI as part of her doctoral research; and Richard Buckley, Quality Assurance and Enhancement Specialist at the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education.

Dr Prys said: “Artificial Intelligence is developing at speed, and its use is becoming an increasingly important part of the education landscape — including Welsh medium education.

“This technology is exciting and offers significant opportunities to support learning and teaching, but it also raises important questions around ethics, assessment and the future of the Welsh language in a digital world.

“Our task is to ensure we make the most of the opportunities this technology presents, while remaining alert to the challenges that are emerging.”

The Coleg has funded several projects to strengthen understanding of AI in education, including a PhD by Beca Owen at Bangor University examining the role of AI in the Welsh and bilingual education system, supervised by two of the panellists, Dr Prys and Dewi Jones.

The Coleg has also funded a report by Kara Lewis at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David, focusing on AI, the Welsh language and higher education.

According to Richard Buckley, one of the panellists, Kara’s report has been a valuable resource in his role leading the Wales Integrity and Assessment Network, which works to ensure that Welsh-medium tertiary education responds effectively to the opportunities and challenges presented by AI.

“The report found that AI tools have clear strengths and limitations when handling Welsh. It showed that AI can assist with tasks such as proofreading and summarising, but that significant limitations remain in terms of grammatical, idiomatic and linguistic accuracy.

“The project highlighted the urgent need for ongoing development of resources, terminology and sectorwide training.

“Kara’s concluding advice was wise and balanced: use AI as a tool to support learning – not to replace human thought, voice or intellectual contribution.

“As Kara put it: ‘Keep your voice, your Welsh, and your own judgement central to your work. Ultimately, you are responsible for the final content, not AI.’”

Also on the panel are Dewi Bryn Jones and Catrin Bradley.

Dewi Bryn Jones works for the Language Technologies Unit at Canolfan Bedwyr – a team that collaborates with the Coleg on the Higher Education Terminology project and with the developers of the Cysgliad software, which helps learners and staff write academic Welsh confidently and accurately. His work also includes developing Macsen, the Welshlanguage digital personal assistant similar to Alexa.

During her doctorate, ARBROFI – Interpreting Indigenous Stories in Wales’ Enchanted Landscapes, Catrin Bradley used AI to create early designs and drafts for a new app. She is now a lecturer at UWTSD and encourages other research students to make use of AI.

Artificial Intelligence in Welsh and bilingual education and training: Opportunities, challenges and the way forward will be held at Societies Tent on Monday, 3 August at 13:00

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