The case

As AI is increasing the risk for young children to skip important steps in their education, Norway decided to put in place several bans on the use of AI at schools.

Source: The Scandinavian Solution to A.I. in Schools, Aug. 26, 2026, The New York Times, Opinion, by Jessica Grose; “Norway imposes near ban on AI in elementary school”, Reuters, June 19, 2026, reporting by Terje Solsvik

The commentary

In Norway, children aged 6 to 13 (from first to seventh grade) must not, as general rule, use AI. Pupils aged from 14 to 16 (lower secondary school) are allowed to cautiously adopt some use of AI under a teacher’s supervision. From ages 17 to 19 (upper secondary education), students have to learn how to use AI in a way that will prepare them for further education. In a related statement, the Norwegian government indicated that it will propose legislation aiming to use more books in classroom, i.e. reverse the trend towards computer and tablets.

The department of education of the United States has chosen the opposite path by issuing guidelines that encourage schools to evaluate technology solely based on effectiveness. It is important to state  in this place that while getting homework done the fast way by outsourcing it to AI can temporarily raise efficiency, doing so will have adverse effect on students’ performance in the long term. In addition, unless clear limits or regulations are put into place, the whole burden of responsibility will fall upon teachers, students, schools and families. It is a well-known fact that this will grant tech companies endless options to fill the gap in the classrooms, allowing them to shape learning standards and, basically, use children’s brains as a guinea pigs.