The accelerating integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in education has generated unprecedented opportunities for personalized learning, data-driven decision-making, and global connectivity. However, in culturally diverse contexts such as Fiji and the wider Pacific, these technological transformations also pose profound ethical and cultural challenges. This paper critically examines how AI can be integrated into Fijian classrooms in ways that support rather than diminish indigenous knowledge systems, cultural identity, and collective well-being. Drawing on culturally responsive pedagogy, indigenous epistemology, and human-centred design theory, the paper proposes a Culturally Responsive AI Integration Framework (CRAIF) for Fijian and Pacific education systems.

The framework emphasizes human agency, relational learning, and indigenous values such as vanua (community and environment), talanoa (dialogue and empathy), and veiwekani (relational interconnectedness). It argues that educational technology must be guided not only by efficiency and innovation but also by cultural ethics, inclusivity, and social responsibility (Thaman, 2019; Nabobo-Baba, 2020). Through critical synthesis of global and regional literature, policy analysis, and emerging studies on the Fifth Industrial Revolution (5IR), the paper explores how Fijian educators and policymakers can navigate the tension between technological modernization and cultural preservation (Schwab & Zahidi, 2023).

The study highlights that uncritical adoption of AI risks deepening digital colonialism, marginalizing indigenous knowledge, and weakening local epistemic authority (UNESCO, 2023; Watanabe, Nakamura, & Kato, 2022). In response, it advocates for AI policies and educational designs that position technology as a partner in cultural transmission, not a substitute for human relationships and traditional wisdom. The paper concludes that safeguarding human agency in the age of AI requires re-centring education around cultural resilience, ethical innovation, and indigenous worldviews, ensuring that Pacific societies thrive in the digital era while preserving their spiritual and cultural foundations.

Artificial Intelligence, Fiji, Pacific, Indigenous Knowledge, Human Agency, Cultural Resilience, Culturally Responsive Pedagogy, Fifth Industrial Revolution

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