As artificial Intelligence (AI) development strategies are set to fuel competition in public and private spheres, UNESCO is calling to build an international community with shared values on AI development and its use in education. This comes with a recommendation for the member states to promote equitable use of AI in education collectively by sharing AI technologies, programmes and resources for capacity building. This is one of the key recommendations of the Beijing Consensus on AI in education adopted during the International Conference on AI and Education, held on 16–18 May in China’s capital. The Conference engaged more than 50 government ministers, over 500 international representatives from over 120 Member States and almost 100 representatives from UN agencies, academic institutions, civil society and AI industry leaders in discussions on how to best harness AI for the future of education. The Beijing Consensus is the first ever document ratified by ministries around the world on how to best harness AI in education, and use it as a lever for the achievement of the UNESCO Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4. It aims to act as a guideline document for governments, international organisations and industry to steer AI policies efficiently and with foresight.