In an effort to enhance educational outcomes, Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere declared new restrictions on artificial intelligence (AI) tools in schools, effective this August. The initiative aims to mitigate perceived negative effects of technology on learning, particularly among younger students.
Starting with primary school, students in grades one through seven, typically aged six to thirteen, will face a near-total ban on AI usage. As they transition to lower secondary education, students in grades eight to ten, ages fourteen to sixteen, may use AI under teacher supervision. Older students, seventeen and up in upper secondary school, will have more leniency but are encouraged to use AI judiciously.
This move aligns with Norway's ongoing efforts to regulate technology in education, including a recent ban on smartphones in classrooms, which led to improved academic performance and a decrease in bullying, according to the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. The government is also considering legislation to boost funding for books in classrooms, marking a significant shift from its previous policy of issuing tablets to students starting at age five.