27 April 2026
How we use technology matters more than what we build
Reflections from ASU+GSV Summit 2026
The ASU+GSV Summit remains a key moment in the global conversation about education, skills and work. Helen Gironi, Director of Ufi Ventures, shares her reflections from San Diego on why thoughtful use of technology matters more than rapid innovation.
“A very little key will open a very heavy door.” – Charles Dickens
That line stayed with me throughout this year’s ASU+GSV Summit. Not because it promised easy answers, but because it captured something truer and harder. Progress in learning and workforce systems rarely comes from big gestures. It comes from small, deliberate choices about what we measure, what we fund, and what we choose not to hand over to technology. This idea strongly resonates with Ufi’s mission to support practical, evidence-led uses of technology that respond to real needs rather than novelty.
The pace of product development across learning and skills remains extraordinary. More than ever, it is possible to build impressive tools with relatively modest resources. What is less proven is how much of that innovation is genuinely improving outcomes. Across multiple sessions at the conference, there was a clear sense that stronger evidence is needed to show that AI is delivering improved cognitive outcomes. Alongside this, some speakers raised concerns about potential adverse effects of AI on learning and the risk that learners outsource effort rather than actively develop judgment.
That does not mean AI has no role. But it does mean that how humans choose to use it will be pivotal to driving value.
The most compelling examples were tightly bounded uses such as diagnosing gaps, help that supports productive struggle, or augmenting rather than replacing teaching and guidance.
Some conversations at the Summit resurfaced: limited learner appetite for sustained interaction with AI, and continued pushback from stakeholders against its uncritical adoption. Where AI does show promise is when it is embedded in curriculum and inseparable from teacher development. As one speaker put it, “the product has to be the professional development”.
This more considered approach is very visible in practice. Work led by our strategic partners at NCFE, through their Assessment Innovation Fund, offers practical examples of what this can look like. One example is the Story of Learner Growth pilot, led by Ufi portfolio company Bodyswaps, which focuses on using AI-enabled roleplay to support formative assessment of essential skills in ways that are low-pressure for learners and meaningful for educators. Here, AI is embedded within curriculum design and assessment practice, reinforcing rather than displacing the role of the teacher.
Questions of trust and data were also debated, with the growing resistance to handing over student data to technology providers, reinforced by privacy regimes that fragment learning records across institutions and life stages. If we want systems that recognise learning wherever it happens, whether through formal education, work, volunteering or military service, that coordination likely needs to happen at a system or state level, not through isolated platforms.
Career navigation was another strong theme. With fewer entry level roles and overstretched guidance services, individuals increasingly need support to explore options rather than be matched to a single ‘best fit’ job. The tools I find most compelling help people remain curious, understand employer expectations, and build durable skills such as communication, problem solving and adaptability that endure as roles and technologies change.
Our portfolio company Springpod is connecting exploration to real destinations, illustrating what evidence-led, outcome-focused innovation in this space can look like. It was a highlight to see Sam Hyams, Founder and CEO of Springpod, contributing to this conversation as a speaker on the panel ‘Beyond the novelty: Evaluating AI powered career navigation tools’ at the Summit.
There was also welcome honesty about capital. Many markets remain crowded with similar products and optimistic scaling assumptions. At the same time, there is growing interest in alternative funding instruments that are suitable for medium scale growth and sustainable market provision.
As sector-specific investors, this is precisely where Ufi Ventures plays an important role; bringing patient, early-stage capital and expertise to back ventures focused on skills and the future of work.
A key reflection is that technology is not the primary constraint. Human learning, organisational capability and change management are. Progress will depend on employers articulating skills needs very clearly, educators adapting to a changing industry ask, and funders backing incremental, evidence driven change.
This reflects some of the thinking behind our recently launched VocTech Together programme, Ufi’s approach to increasing the adoption of vocational technology by focusing not on new tools, but on supporting organisations to embed what already works, build confidence and capability, and generate the evidence needed to sustain change over time.
In many ways, the conversations at ASU+GSV reinforced why Ufi’s focus remains not on building faster, but on building better. Big doors will not open all at once. But with the right small keys, curiosity, discipline, and respect for how people actually learn, they will open.
Helen Gironi
Director of Ufi Ventures
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How we use technology matters more than what we buildHelen Gironi, Director of Ufi Ventures, shares her reflections from the ASU+GSV Summit 2026.
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