From outright bans in New York and Los Angeles to Estonia’s effort to integrate AI into teaching, education systems around the world are taking increasingly different approaches to the technology.
While some schools and policymakers are restricting students’ access to generative AI over concerns about learning, critical thinking and cheating, others argue that banning the technology will only push its use underground and leave schools unprepared for a changing educational environment.
New York and Los Angeles opt for restrictions
Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), which serves around 380,000 students, has banned the use of AI in public classrooms for the current school year. The district said the policy is intended to restrict student access to generative AI platforms while officials assess their educational use and establish safeguards.
The decision was welcomed by parent groups including Schools Beyond Screens, which has campaigned against the use of certain technologies in schools.
New York City has taken a similar approach. Mayor Zohran Mamdani has introduced what city officials describe as the most extensive student-facing AI moratorium in the US, citing the need to prioritise student safety and human instruction.
The city had previously banned access to ChatGPT for students and teachers shortly after the chatbot was launched in 2022. That restriction was reversed several months later, with education officials arguing that the technology could also have educational benefits.
Estonia takes a different path
Estonia has instead chosen to integrate AI into education. The country has been providing 16-year-old students with an adapted version of ChatGPT developed in cooperation with OpenAI.
Education Minister Kristina Kallas said banning AI would not prevent young people from using it, but would instead make its use more difficult for teachers and parents to monitor.
The Estonian system is designed to guide students rather than simply provide answers. Kallas described it as a “Socratic” approach intended to encourage critical thinking and cognitive development.
The country does not currently plan to allow students under 16 to use AI tools directly, while teachers are being trained to adapt assignments for younger pupils who may already be using AI at home.
“We need to redesign the learning process,” Kallas said, arguing that schools must take into account the fact that students are already familiar with the technology.
Most countries remain in the middle
According to Mark West of UNESCO, most education systems around the world have not adopted either the strict restrictions seen in New York and Los Angeles or Estonia’s more proactive approach.
The United Arab Emirates is among the countries taking a particularly active stance. AI education is introduced from preschool, with younger students learning about differences between humans and machines, while students aged 10 to 14 are taught how to design AI systems.
West said teaching students about AI and allowing them to rely on AI for learning were two different issues.
Spain has also established general guidelines for AI use in education, although responsibility for education policy largely lies with regional governments. A recent guide from the National Institute of Educational Technologies and Teacher Training said AI literacy had become a necessary part of students’ education.
Catalonia is currently the only Spanish region recommending that children under 14 should not use AI unsupervised in classrooms.
The debate over learning
The disagreement reflects a broader question over how much AI should become part of the learning process.
Estonian officials argue that schools must adapt to a technology students are already using outside the classroom. By contrast, opponents of classroom AI fear that excessive reliance on automated tools could weaken independent thinking and learning.
The issue is also emerging as AI developers themselves debate the pace at which the technology is advancing. UNESCO has called for safeguards while also supporting the responsible expansion of AI in education.
The challenge for education systems, therefore, is not simply whether to allow or ban AI, but how to ensure that its use supports learning without replacing the thinking and skills schools are meant to develop.
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