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Italy is bringing artificial intelligence into schools as the government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni looks for innovative ways to close the rising gap in digital skills between the country and other European Union members. Education Minister Giuseppe Valditara announced this week that AI-assisted software will be tested in 15 classrooms in four regions, with plans to expand the scheme if the experiment works. AI on classroom tablets and computers will work as "virtual assistants that can make learning easier for students and help teachers identify methods for an increasingly bespoke education," Valditara told TGcom24.
This is an initiative targeting better-personalized learning experiences and helping educators provide better quality instruction. Eurostat reported that Italy ranks low in basic digital skills across the EU, scoring less than Latvia, Poland, Bulgaria, and Romania. Hopefully, an assessment of this initiative would reflect the effectiveness of AI tools in classrooms.
It will also guide future rollouts towards more inclusiveness as well as effectiveness, as noted by Francesca Bastagli of Fondazione Agnelli. Italy is paving for schools with an AI push, in tandem with a blanket ban on mobile phones in classrooms, for educational as well as personal use. Previous efforts to digitize Italian schools have struggled, partially because of the advanced age of the teaching staff.
Over half of the teaching staff is older than 50 years according to data from the OECD. Prime Minister Meloni emphasized AI at this year's G7 summit, noting the advantages of AI while managing the associated risks. This is not the first time a country's government tried to inject AI into the education system.
The Indian government recently launched a program called " Maker Lab on Wheels " in Bengaluru. Maker Lab on Wheels is an innovative initiative by which the students will be taught about AI and latest tech topics during their bus journeys. This program provides education in STEM fields to students ranging from class 5 to higher up of Kadugodi Government First Grade College.
The Mahadevapura PPP Education Task Force introduced this program assisted by Indian tech giant Infosys..
