NPM portfolio company Conclusion has published a nationwide survey of 1,000 Dutch consumers showing that 67 percent believe children should learn at school how artificial intelligence works and how to use AI responsibly. Almost half, 46 percent, believe the government should ensure that people have sufficient knowledge of AI.
Opinions differ on when AI education should begin. 28 percent want children to start learning about AI in primary school, while 39 percent consider secondary school a more appropriate starting point. At the same time, 22 percent believe schools should instead focus on learning without AI. A further 4 percent do not consider AI education necessary at all.
The government is most frequently seen as responsible for ensuring sufficient AI knowledge, cited by 46 percent, for example through education and public information. 29 percent believe individuals are responsible for this themselves. Employers and technology companies are mentioned far less frequently, by 9 and 8 percent respectively. There is also no consensus yet on whether AI knowledge will become a basic skill: 39 percent believe that in five years, knowledge of AI will be as important as reading and writing, compared with 25 percent who do not.
“Using AI responsibly is about much more than learning how to write prompts,” says Bastiaan Sjardin, Chief Technology Officer at Conclusion. “Students need to understand sufficiently how AI works and what its risks and limitations are. They need to learn how to check answers, assess the reliability of sources and determine when it is better not to use AI. Practising independently without AI remains necessary to develop knowledge and basic skills.”