China's capital city is making AI education mandatory, even for elementary schoolers
Starting this fall, schools in Beijing must provide at least eight hours of AI instruction.
AI education will be mandatory for students from elementary school through high school.
The move comes as China powers ahead in the AI race.
China's capital, Beijing, is making AI education compulsory for students — including elementary schoolers.
Starting this fall, schools in the city must provide at least eight hours of AI instruction per academic year, the Beijing Municipal Education Commission said in a statement on Friday. Schools can teach AI as a stand-alone course or integrate it into existing courses like science and information technology.
Under the new plan, elementary schoolers, typically ages six to twelve, would take hands-on courses to kick-start their understanding of AI. Those in middle school would learn how to apply AI in schoolwork and daily life, while high schoolers would focus on strengthening AI applications and innovation, the agency said.
In China, compulsory education consists of six years of elementary school, three years of middle school, and three years of high school.
The commission said the initiative is meant to create a "teacher-student-machine" learning model and integrate AI ethics.
Beijing isn't alone in pushing for AI education in schools. Last year, California passed a law requiring its education board to consider AI literacy in school curricula. Reuters reported in September that Italy would begin testing AI-powered tools in 15 classrooms as part of a broader effort to enhance students' digital skills.
Beijing's decision to make AI education mandatory comes as China powers ahead in the AI race, with its homegrown startups gaining global attention.
Earlier this year, AI startup DeepSeek made headlines after unveiling a low-cost reasoning model that shook up the AI industry and the US stock market. The company said its model rivals top competitors, like ChatGPT's o1, at a fraction of the cost.
Last week, Alibaba's stock surged 8% over two days after the company launched its latest open-sourced AI model, which it said used less data than its rival DeepSeek.
Other Chinese AI stocks, including Tencent, have also seen gains amid excitement for newly announced technology, while top US-based AI stocks, like Nvidia, have faced losses.
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