Estonian President Alar Karis has a plan to bring AI to schools

Euronews

5 days ago

Schools may be closing for the summer holidays, but Estonia's teachers will be spending the break learning how to use artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots to prepare a new generation to use the technology, the country's President Alar Karis told Euronews Next.
Estonia is no stranger to high-tech infrastructure. For more than two decades, the country has been digitising all of its services and is ahead of many countries when it comes to cybersecurity. But Karis said that 'in a way,' AI is a new frontier.
'We try to take advantage of this technology and we start from schools, and not only from schools but from teachers, because education is of utmost importance,' he said, adding that teachers will pass on their knowledge to their students.
AI could help teachers plan their lessons and give more personalised feedback to children, Karis said, but the technology, which is developing fast as competition among AI companies is fierce, also poses many ethical questions.
'The whole school system is probably going to be upside down in the coming years. But it's in a very early stage. And how and where it develops, it's very difficult to say,' he said.
'With AI, it's not the problem with technology itself, but just the speed [of development] and then people get very anxious because of the speed rather than technology,' he added.
Trust in AI
Concerns about AI include the technology making things up, which is known as hallucinating. Studies have also shown that using chatbots can impact people's critical thinking skills.
'It's the same with every technology. If you don't read books anymore, you start using only this chatbot, of course, you are getting dumber, but that's why we have to teach [people] how to use it smartly,' said Karis.
'And students, modern students, already know how to use ChatGPT, not only to copy-paste, but really use it'.
For example, AI could be used to help students catch up after they have missed a few days at school, because teachers 'do not have the time' to do so, Karis said.
But one major issue that teachers have reported is students using AI to write their essays or do their homework for them, which can be difficult for teachers to identify.
'We are dealing with this problem already,' Karis said.
'The teachers and professors should be honest if they have been using it [AI]. So it's a matter of trust'.
Though Karis mentions OpenAI's ChatGPT, the Estonian government says it is considering working with several tech companies.
The programme, called AI Leap, is a private-public partnership. Negotiations are underway with US AI companies OpenAI and Anthropic, the country's education minister announced in February.
Karis added that as Estonia is a small country, it cannot build its own AI systems and is instead 'taking advantage' of what is already developed. However, he noted the importance of these AI chatbots being available in the Estonian language.
'Being a small country with a small language means we have to keep our language going. That means that we need to develop ourselves, these language skills for AI,' he said.
'Otherwise, young people, they switch to English and we lose a lot, and then people start already thinking in a foreign language'.
The AI Leap programme will begin in September and will initially include 20,000 high schoolers and 3,000 teachers, the education ministry said.
Estonia then hopes to expand to vocational schools and an additional 38,000 students and 3,000 teachers from September 2026.
The hybrid war
AI will soon be as central to Estonia's school curricula as cybersecurity is today, Karis said.
Cybersecurity has been a focus since a 2007 cyberattack on the country that lasted weeks and took out Estonian banks, government bodies, and the media.
Exactly who was behind the attacks is unknown. The cyberattacks came from Russian IP addresses, but the government has always denied any involvement.
Karis said that Estonia, which borders Russia, is not immune from having a war on its doorstep.
'The whole of Europe is next door to Russia so we're not in any way exceptional, but this so-called hybrid war is going on already… and of course AI can be one of the tools' used in modern warfare.
'We have to be aware and to make sure that we develop also critical thinking, and that's why we start with schools and teachers,' he said.
Despite some of the fears and unknowns of AI, Karis, who was a molecular geneticist and developmental biologist prior to entering politics, is more excited about the potential uses of AI than the risks.
'I'm not scared of anything [in AI] to be honest, it's a new technology and being a former scientist, for me, it's always very interesting to use new technologies and to build something. So everything is exciting which is new, and you shouldn't be scared of the unknown,' he said.
Of course, there is also a limit for the technology. … There are also worries, and rules and regulations and all these acts will help to keep things under control'.