AI in Education
Is it a threat or an opportunity?
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is reshaping education around the world in ways that were nearly unimaginable just a decade ago.. No longer confined to the realm of futuristic speculation, AI is already embedded in classrooms, administrative systems, and digital learning environments. Its applications range from adaptive learning software to automated grading and even to large-scale policy planning. It is being used to support teaching, personalize learning, and manage schools more efficiently. At the same time, it introduces new risks that demand thoughtful regulation and ethical debate.
There are two systems of AI used in education, Generative Artificial Intelligence (genAI) and Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS). GenAI refers to AI systems that can generate new content, such as text, images, audio, or video, rather than just analyzing existing data. ITS are AI-powered adaptive learning platforms designed to act like a personal tutor. They guide students step-by-step, monitor their progress, and adjust the difficulty and type of instruction in real time. GenAI is broader in scope and more interactive allowing for creativity, deep exploration and inventiveness. ITS is more subject based and creates content to track mastery.
Let’s look at one country that seems to have got it right. Tiny Estonia, with a population of 1.3 million, ranks among the most digitally advanced societies in the world. This country tucked into the north-eastern corner of Europe also enjoys one of the greatest economic, press and internet freedoms in the world. The secret of this tiny nation’s rise to a digital powerhouse lies in the pioneering advances made by its government under its innovative e-Estonia initiative – fostering innovative education, virtual business and digital citizenship. Estonia has a comprehensive, high-achieving education system known for its focus on digital and 21st-century skills, strong autonomy for schools, and emphasis on equality and holistic development. The system includes four levels—preschool, basic, secondary, and higher education—with compulsory education beginning at age 7 and extending to age 18. Key features are a competency-based national curriculum, free education at every level, and significant investment in digital infrastructure.
Estonia began its journey towards becoming a digital society in 1997 by launching its historic Tiger Leap programme. This programme brought computers and the internet early to all Estonian schools and laid the foundation for the country’s emergence as a digital pioneer. And now starting September 1, 2025 they have launched an ambitious nationwide artificial intelligence education program called AI Leap 2025 (TI-Hüpe 2025 in Estonian). This initiative will provide students and teachers with free access to the world’s leading AI applications and the necessary skills to use them effectively in learning, marking the next chapter in Estonia’s digital society journey.
For almost 30 years Estonia’s teachers and education professionals have been training and learning how to use these tools effectively in the classroom so they are now ready for this next step. This has been an investment that has put Estonia ahead of every other Western country, based on the PISA assessments. The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is a global program whereby around 600,000 15-year-old students from different countries are put under a two-hour test to gauge their skills and knowledge, mainly in science, reading, and mathematics. PISA test questions don’t gauge memorization of facts but demand that students draw on real-world problem-solving skills and knowledge. Every three years in the worldwide education systems, The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) conducts the PISA assessments to test the critical thinking of 15-year-old students in over 65 countries that make up 90% of the world’s economies. Since a high ranking on PISA corresponds to economic success, researchers have concluded that PISA is one of the indicators of whether school systems are preparing students for the 21st-century global knowledge economy. Estonia is known for its leading role in digital innovation and e-government, pioneering online voting and digital services, and being the birthplace of startups like Skype. There is much to be learned from this small country.
The United States has been slower to adopt AI in education. We are culturally more resistant to change until that change can be scientifically proven to succeed. So compared to many other countries we are behind the eight ball. In addition our current political climate doesn’t value education and therefore doesn’t invest in it. This leaves teachers with little to no training to stay up to date with technological advances and inadequate computer infrastructure in our schools. We are not innovative in our approach to education because we rely on policy makers and business leaders to dictate the content and control the funding. This holds us back.
There is a level of computer literacy among our young people that far outweighs that of the adults. Older generations didn’t grow up with the range of technology that is available today which makes many people nervous about allowing children access to the many resources available at their fingertips. This is because we have failed to keep up; we haven’t offered training to teachers and our communities in order to help them harness the enormous learning potential in AI use. Instead we punish children when they use AI to write an essay for them. Why aren’t we teaching them how to use it as a learning tool rather than a tool to complete a homework assignment? We are not focused on learning but rather have become overly preoccupied with our loss of control over our children’s use of technology and approach to learning. We adults need to get up to date and start to educate ourselves about responsible use of AI in order to support our children’s use of it as a tool of learning. And we need to set some standards for its ethical and educational use. Until we do this children will continue to use it to “cheat” and why not, it’s there and it isn’t going away.
AI in education offers extraordinary possibilities. It can personalize learning, relieve teachers of repetitive tasks, and expand access to quality education for millions. But it also carries risks that could reshape schools in unintended ways if left unchecked. The future of AI in education depends not only on technological innovation but also on the human choices we make—about equity, ethics, and the purpose of schooling itself. Handled wisely, AI can become a partner in building more inclusive, creative, and effective education systems. Handled poorly, it risks turning learning into a mechanized process stripped of its human richness. The challenge ahead is to harness AI’s potential while holding fast to education’s deeper mission: preparing students not just for tests, but for life.