Students may not be interested in using AI developed with state participation
An artificial intelligence (AI) application developed with the participation of the Estonia state should reach schools this fall. However, developers have come across two problems: Students don't want to use the app, and secondly the law doesn't allow for it.
The state has launched the million-euro TI-Leap program. As part of this, an AI model by OpenAI was acquired from a large American firm, and the state is now trying to adapt it so that the app can be used as a teaching tool in schools. Negotiations with Google are also ongoing.
The app developed in cooperation should be created in a way that it does not give students answers in advance, but directs them to think further. While the study program was originally supposed to start in September, it will now be postponed by a few months, as regulations on ensuring the protection of minors' data had not yet been developed.
Riin Saadjärv, head of education technology at the Ministry of Education and Research, said the ministry is working to ensure all school tools follow the law.
"Currently, we're working to ensure that use of the app complies with data protection rules," Saadjärv said, adding that the ministry is working on adding a relevant provision to the Basic Schools and Upper Secondary Schools Act.
Student interest is another concern. Ivo Visak, CEO of Estonia's AI Leap Foundation, said students already have access to existing AI tools.
"If you have a device in your pocket that answers everything, and now we're suddenly offering a model that asks you annoying questions instead, why would anyone use it?" he asked. "This is actually one of the biggest questions we're trying to tackle."
Visak stressed that a key goal is to make the state's AI motivating enough for students to engage and work independently.
AI expert Aivo Vaske said he does not oppose the state's model, but is positive it won't replace existing AI tools. He noted that whether students adopt it will depend on how useful it is for meeting their needs.
"Students often have homework to do, and if it doesn't directly help with that, they'll just use other models instead," Vaske stressed.
The state-developed AI will first be tested in the 10th and 11th grades, while teachers receive training. A University of Tartu study found that more than 60 percent of students already use AI in some form.
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Editor: Johanna Alvin, Aili Vahtla, Andrew Whyte
