Kids in South Korea Are Learning AI With Ethics First

As Artificial Intelligence reshapes the global economy, including education, South Korea is exposing children to AI at an earlier age while teaching them how to use the technology responsibly. 

An Al Jazeera report found that South Korean students in grades three to six are learning the fundamentals of data management and AI algorithms and how to combine them to build robots. They also learn block coding and how to make facial recognition cameras, but all of this comes after first learning AI ethics. 

Since AI use cannot be stopped, the approach comes as more countries are trying to figure out how AI should fit into education while also dealing with growing concerns over how the technology is used. 

In the US, OpenAI reports that school districts in 30 states now have ChatGPT for Teachers integrated, with strong uptake in the Los Angeles area and the Northeast. India is also integrating AI into its education system, with Punjab becoming the first state in the country to introduce Artificial Intelligence as a mainstream subject from Class I to XII. 

Now South Korea is taking a similar step, while also ensuring students understand what comes with using the technology. 

A pilot with national ambitions 

The program is currently offered at six elementary schools in Seoul, with around 3,000 students taking part. An executive from the Seoul AI Foundation said the program "isn't an isolated policy," but "part of a national strategy." 

Since 2020, South Korea has been weaving AI through every aspect of its education system, training more than 34,000 teachers along the way, according to Al Jazeera. 

This ambition feeds into the country's goal of becoming a major artificial intelligence power and providing the population with free, unlimited access to homegrown generative AI.