As artificial intelligence reshapes classrooms, the European Union is preparing a new credential to help students use the technology critically and responsibly. The proposed AI literacy certificate would give 15-year-olds practical guidance on how AI works, how to assess its answers and when to question or step away from it.

Aiming For The 2027–2028 School Year

The European Commission is targeting the 2027–2028 school year for the certificate’s launch. The initiative comes as educators and students across the world grapple with AI’s growing role in teaching and learning.

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“It will help young pupils understand how AI works, check what it tells them, spot manipulation, and know when to switch off,” said European Commission Executive Vice-President Roxana Minzatu.

The proposal also arrives amid concerns about foundational skills. The Commission has reported that roughly one in three 15-year-olds in the EU underachieves in reading or mathematics, against a broader backdrop of declining basic skills and teacher shortages. The Commission’s findings underscore the pressure on education systems to improve learning outcomes while adapting to new technologies.

Building AI Literacy Across Schools

Education policy remains the responsibility of EU member states, rather than Brussels. The Commission can nevertheless support research and coordination on how AI might be introduced safely into classrooms.

The certificate reflects a broader argument: students and teachers need more than access to AI tools. They also need to understand how those tools produce information, where they can fail and what risks they may pose. That knowledge, the Commission argues, can help people use AI to support learning rather than accept its outputs uncritically.

Distinguishing Learning Tools From Social Platforms

The EU is also pressing for measures to limit young teenagers’ access to social media. Minzatu said that effort does not conflict with encouraging educational uses of AI.

“AI has the potential of really amplifying certain educational processes: tutoring, personalised learning,” she said. Those applications, she added, are distinct from the addictive algorithms used by social platforms.

The distinction points to the policy challenge facing schools and governments: capturing AI’s potential to support teaching while giving young people the skills to recognize its limits and risks.