Leaders in advanced technology and global philanthropy came together in Abu Dhabi to emphasise how artificial intelligence adoption and major investment in underserved communities can play a critical role in raising education standards "for every child in the world".

Major technology companies set out their vision to integrate AI in the classroom to prepare students for the workplace of tomorrow at the World Schools Summit on Saturday.

The conference – which concludes on Sunday – was also told how a multimillion dollar investment in schools in Africa would prove to a "great equaliser" in the drive for education equality.

Google said its aim was to reach 2.3 million youth, teachers and caregivers by 2028 in the Middle East and North Africa region, improve online safety, AI literacy and readiness.

As part of $25m funding since 2019, the company announced it was committing $5.5m to three non-profit organisations – Injaz Al Arab, Inco and Chance, to improve AI literacy, advanced skills and online safety for learners across the region and in the UAE.

Injaz Al Arab in collaboration with Google empowers youth across the MENA region with education initiatives in the UAE, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Inco’s work covers about 140 countries aiming to advance equal access to economic opportunity by skilling the workforce and Chance empowers underprivileged children.

Microsoft said it planned to bring AI skills to 1 million people as part of $15.2bn