In early November, Microsoft announced it would provide artificial intelligence tools and training to over 200,000 students and teachers in the United Arab Emirates.

A financial services firm in Kazakhstan revealed an arrangement with OpenAI several days later to offer ChatGPT Edu, a service designed for educational institutions, to 165,000 teachers across Kazakhstan.

Last month, xAI, Elon Musk’s AI firm, unveiled a larger initiative with El Salvador: creating an AI tutoring platform, utilizing the company’s Grok chatbot, for over a million students across numerous schools there.

Driven in part by American tech firms, countries worldwide are hurrying to implement generative AI systems and education in schools and universities.

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Certain US technology executives assert that AI chatbots — capable of generating human-like emails, crafting class quizzes, analyzing data, and writing computer code — can greatly benefit education. The tools, they claim, can save educators time, tailor student learning, and assist in readying youth for an “AI-driven” economy.

However, the swift proliferation of new AI products might also threaten the development and well-being of young people, according to several children’s and health organizations.

A new study by Microsoft and Carnegie Mellon University revealed that widely used AI chatbots could reduce critical thinking skills. AI bots can generate errors and misinformation that sound credible, and some educators are struggling with student cheating facilitated by AI.

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For years, Silicon Valley has introduced tech tools such as laptops and educational apps into classrooms, claiming to enhance educational access and transform learning.

Nonetheless, a worldwide initiative to increase computer access in schools — a program called “One Laptop per Child” — did not enhance students' cognitive abilities or academic results, according to research conducted by professors and economists across numerous schools in Peru.

Presently, while certain technology advocates present comparable arguments for equitable education access through AI, organizations focused on children's welfare such as UNICEF are advocating for caution and requesting additional guidance for educational institutions.

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Steven Vosloo, a digital policy expert at UNICEF, stated in a recent post that the consequences of One Laptop per Child included ineffective spending and unsatisfactory educational results.