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A decade ago, the idea of teaching AI in schools might have sounded like something reserved for computer science students. But today, it鈥檚 becoming a much more serious question.

After all, children are already using AI. Whether it鈥檚 ChatGPT helping with homework, AI-powered search engines answering questions or tools generating images and videos, young people are growing up alongside technology that many adults are still trying to understand.

And at this point, the question is no longer whether students will encounter AI. The question is whether schools should be teaching them how to use it to properly prepare them for the real world.

It turns out, many experts believe the answer is yes.

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AI Is Becoming A Life Skill

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One of the strongest arguments for AI literacy is quite simply that AI is rapidly becoming part of everyday life.听As Sachin Agrawal, Managing Director for Zoho UK, explains, 鈥淭he students who understand how AI works and how to use it responsibly will be at an advantage, as AI is already becoming a life skill.鈥�

That idea was echoed across almost every expert response I received. Much like digital literacy became essential as the internet transformed workplaces, AI literacy is increasingly being viewed as a fundamental skill rather than a specialist one.

Lisa Haycox, CEO of Explore Learning, believes the shift is already underway. 鈥淎t Explore Learning, we work with over 50,000 children annually across the UK, and one thing is beyond debate: children are already using AI in their education, whether we prepare them for it or not.鈥�

For many, that changes the conversation entirely. Ignoring AI doesn鈥檛 stop children from using it, it just means they鈥檙e going to be left to figure it out on their own which can be dangerous and also may mean they end up being unprepared for life in the real world.

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But What Does 鈥淎I Literacy鈥� Actually Mean?

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Importantly, experts aren鈥檛 suggesting that every child needs to become a machine learning engineer. That鈥檚 obviously not realistic, nor necessary. Instead, AI literacy is increasingly being framed as a critical thinking skill.

According to Dr. Martin Saunders, CEO of EdShed, children should learn concepts such as how algorithms use data, why AI can produce biased answers and when human judgement is essential. And this is a recurring theme throughout the debate. The concern isn鈥檛 necessarily that students will use AI, it鈥檚 that they鈥檒l trust it too much. In many ways, they already are.

Amanda Falshaw, AI Enablement Lead at Reading Room, argues that one of the most important skills schools can teach is how to question AI-generated information rather than simply accepting it as fact. Similarly, Jonny Murphy-Campbell, AI Expert and Commercial Director at Resolvable, warns that 鈥淭he issue many people have with AI is that they鈥檙e over-reliant on it, and they fail to apply critical thinking and human judgement, which is essential.鈥�

In other words, AI literacy may be less about teaching children how to generate answers and more about teaching them how to challenge them.

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Could Schools Move Too Quickly?

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Of course, not everyone believes AI should sit alongside traditional core subjects just yet. Indeed, many experts support AI education, but with caveats.

Unsurprisingly, there are concerns around privacy, misinformation, bias and overreliance. Some worry that introducing AI too early could undermine the development of independent thinking and problem-solving skills.

Dr. Laura Bishop, AI and Cyber Security Digital Sector Lead at BSI, argues that literacy alone isn鈥檛 enough. 鈥淐hild safety must be built into AI from the outset rather than addressed only after harms emerge.鈥� Others stress that AI should complement existing subjects, not replace them.听Sumit Kumar, Co-Founder of Creative Ideaz, believes traditional subjects remain essential, saying: 鈥淐ore subjects such as Maths, Science and English will always be important in our schools.鈥�

The challenge, then, is finding a balance between preparing children for the future without sacrificing the foundations that education has always been built upon.

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Maybe The Real Question Is Adaptability

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Perhaps the most interesting perspective comes from history itself. Barb Hyman, CEO and Founder of Sapia.ai, compares today鈥檚 AI debate to the rise of computer literacy in the 1980s and 1990s, and it鈥檚 hard to ignore the parallels. Back then, simply knowing how to use a computer was a valuable skill. Eventually, it became an expectation.

And the same thing may happen with AI. If that鈥檚 true, then teaching today鈥檚 AI tools may be less important than teaching students how to adapt to whatever comes next.听After all, the AI systems children use in five years could look completely different from the ones available today.

The ability to think critically, question information, learn new technologies and adapt to change may ultimately prove more valuable than mastering any single platform.

And that may be the strongest argument for AI literacy of all. It鈥檚 not really about teaching children how to use AI; it鈥檚 about teaching them how to live and work in a world where AI is increasingly impossible to avoid so that they can use it a way that鈥檚 most effective, efficient and safe.

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The Experts Weigh In

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• Lisa Haycox:听CEO of Explore Learning
• Sasha Watson: CPO at Zellis
• Sachin Agrawal: Managing Director for Zoho UK
• Dr. Laura Bishop: AI and Cyber Security Digital Sector Lead at BSI
• Sumit Kumar: Co-Founder of Creative Ideaz
• Amanda Falshaw: AI Enablement Lead at Reading Room
• Barb Hyman: CEO and Founder at Sapia.ai
• Dr. Martin Saunders: CEO of EdShed

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Lisa Haycox, CEO of Explore Learning

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鈥淎t Explore Learning, we work with over 50,000 children annually across the UK, and one thing is beyond debate: children are already using AI in their education, whether we prepare them for it or not. That reality brings a twofold risk. Left unprepared, children may either fall behind in an AI-driven world or lean on these tools so heavily that it stunts the development of essential critical thinking skills and cognitive progression.

鈥淎I literacy is of the utmost importance in this landscape. It鈥檚 fast becoming as fundamental as maths or English, and a non-negotiable in modern education. The answer is evidence-backed AI adoption paired with human oversight to ensure responsible use, not avoidance or apprehension. Taught well and invested in from the earliest stages of education, AI literacy will play a key role in preparing children for the future workforce.鈥�

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Sasha Watson, CPO at Zellis

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鈥淭he education system needs to evolve much more quickly to prepare young people for an AI-enabled workplace. AI is rapidly becoming a life skill, and schools should be teaching students how to use these tools responsibly and effectively, rather than trying to avoid them altogether. Skills such as prompt engineering, critical thinking, adaptability and problem-solving will become increasingly important as jobs and industries continue to change.

鈥淭raditional education models that focus heavily on exams alone are no longer enough to prepare people for the realities of modern work. Employers are looking for individuals who can learn quickly, adapt to change and apply practical thinking in fast-moving environments. Closer collaboration between educators and employers will be essential to ensure students are developing skills that are genuinely relevant for the future workforce.鈥�

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Jonny Murphy-Campbell,听AI Expert and Commercial Director at Resolvable

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鈥淵es, we should definitely be teaching children AI literacy 鈥� but doing so with the emphasis that it needs to be used ethically. That looks like teaching children the critical thinking skills that are essential for AI usage. The issue many people have with AI is that they鈥檙e over-reliant on it, and they fail to apply critical thinking and human judgement, which is essential. AI surfaces and amplifies existing biases by scanning masses of information online 鈥� not all of it from reliable sources.

鈥淚t鈥檚 delusional to think that AI will not 鈥� and is not already 鈥� a huge part of the younger generations鈥� lives. They鈥檒l grow up with AI advancing and evolving with them. A huge part of literacy is about teaching children how to use it responsibly and giving them the right tools to be able to use AI in the right ways. This looks like allowing them to practice using AI as a sanctioned tool to speed up repetitive tasks, but only once they鈥檝e learnt how to do these tasks independently without relying on AI.

鈥淎I should never replace creative pursuits, either, it should only enhance the level of all-round education children are receiving. Schools should focus on teaching AI literacy separately from all the other crucial subjects for personal and educational development, merely as an extra skillset so they鈥檙e better equipped for their future. Creative and academic subjects should be the focus, with AI literacy a necessary addition to the curriculum.

鈥淐hildren should not be exposed to generative AI independently; human oversight and adult intervention is crucial when children are learning AI literacy 鈥� even more so than other subjects. Children should be taught AI literacy from the very beginning, and learn its risks and limitations first and foremost, so they can learn to apply their own critical thinking and judgement skills alongside.

鈥淚t鈥檚 important to note that children aren鈥檛 expected to have the same critical thinking skills or ability to apply nuance as an adult, so AI literacy should be taught in very small doses and with lots of adult oversight. And while it doesn鈥檛 need to be reserved for older high school students only, it鈥檚 important that children are allowed to be children in primary school and thus not exposed to information beyond their years.鈥�

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Dr. Martin Saunders, CEO of EdShed

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鈥淎I literacy should sit alongside maths and English as a core part of preparing children for modern life. AI already influences the information pupils encounter, the tools they use and, increasingly, the careers they may pursue. Being confident with technology is not the same as understanding it.

鈥淐hildren don鈥檛 need advanced technical lessons, but they should learn age-appropriate concepts such as how algorithms use data, why AI can produce biased or inaccurate answers, how misinformation spreads and when human judgement is essential. The advantages include stronger critical thinking, safer technology use, greater creativity and improved future opportunities.

鈥淭here are always risks, including overreliance on automated tools, privacy concerns and reduced independent thinking but avoiding AI education won鈥檛 protect children and young people. Safe, structured teaching is far better than leaving them to encounter these systems without guidance. The answer isn鈥檛 fear of technology, but informed and responsible use.

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Sachin Agrawal, Managing Director for Zoho UK听

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鈥淎I adoption is being introduced across all sectors in finance, business, healthcare, etc., but it is also being introduced into everyday parts of life. The students who understand how AI works and how to use it responsibly will be at an advantage, as AI is already becoming a life skill, and equipping children with the tools to use it will set them up stronger for the reality of the world now.鈥�

鈥淗owever, the risks must also be acknowledged as AI shouldn鈥檛 be relied upon for knowledge or critical thinking. There must be collaboration among government, industry leaders, and academia to ensure the right guardrails are in place to prevent overreliance on AI, which may lead to bias. Children need structured guidance on how to question AI outputs, how to use it ethically and, most importantly, to understand its limitations.鈥�

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Dr. Laura Bishop, AI and Cyber Security Digital Sector Lead at BSI

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鈥淲e absolutely need to be teaching AI literacy to parents, educators, schools and children so they understand AI鈥檚 capabilities, limitations and risks. It isn鈥檛 simply about children understanding what an AI system does. What we need is to build understanding of where AI is encountered, how to question outputs, what data is being used for, and how to identify risks. Education should focus on critical thinking rather than simply on technical literacy.

鈥淐rucially, however, this needs to come alongside a safety by design culture for AI. Digital literacy cannot compensate for chatbots or AI toys or devices that have been designed without sufficient regard for child welfare. Child safety must be built into AI from the outset rather than addressed only after harms emerge. Literacy is vital 鈥� but the onus must also be on those creating the AI to prevent harm.鈥�

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Sumit Kumar, Co-Founder of Creative Ideaz

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鈥淭here鈥檚 no denying the impact Artificial Intelligence has had on how we live and work now, and it will play a huge role in how we shape our futures.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not a question of whether or not children should be encouraged to develop AI literacy, but a matter of how we can do it in an effective and safe way.

鈥淐ore subjects such as Maths, Science and English will always be important in our schools, and it is vital that we don鈥檛 place any less importance on them than we do now.

鈥淭here definitely is a growing argument, however, for the introduction of AI literacy classes to arm our children with the tools they will need in an ever-changing world.

鈥淢y belief is that it is vitally important to adapt to new demands placed on our children by a future world of work, without diminishing existing ones.

鈥淲e will always need traditional soft skills such as problem-solving, communication and organisation, and the people who will succeed in the future will be those who combine these traditional skills with AI literacy.鈥�

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Amanda Falshaw, AI Enablement Lead at Reading Room

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鈥淎I literacy should absolutely be taught in schools. Young people need to be aware how to work with AI tools to get the best out of them, and perhaps most importantly, how to critically analyse what comes out of them rather than defaulting to trust.

鈥淵oung people need to be taught how to apply systematic scrutiny of AI outputs for bias and errors. This 鈥榬eview muscle鈥� is one of the core skills I believe everyone using AI needs, so embedding this thinking from school age would be brilliant. Our latest research with 150 senior leaders at medium-large UK businesses backs up the importance of this 鈥� finding that only a third of organisations consistently check AI-generated outputs. At the very least, everyone, including young people, should be taught to consider four basic questions when reviewing any AI output: what鈥檚 missing, what assumptions have been made, how would I verify this, and would I be comfortable putting my name to it?

鈥淭he same research found that 85% of senior leaders said AI fluency was 鈥榠mportant or very important鈥� when recruiting people into their teams. 6% said it was crucial and they wouldn鈥檛 recruit without it. So yes, incorporating AI literacy into the curriculum is crucial.鈥�

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Barb Hyman, CEO and Founder at Sapia.ai

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鈥淭his is not the first time a transformative technology has produced a contested literacy label. Computer literacy in the 1980s and 1990s initially meant 鈥渃an operate a PC and a word processor鈥�. It eventually fragmented into a baseline that everyone needs and a specialist layer that became its own field.

鈥淗istory gives a useful warning here. When computers first arrived, 鈥渃an use a computer鈥� was the right hiring question for a few years. Then everyone could use one, and the real value moved elsewhere: solving problems with spreadsheets, then web development, to mobile apps, to the cloud.

鈥淲e can make the same point about AI: the most transformative use case probably hasn鈥檛 been built yet. The real hiring question isn鈥檛 鈥渒nows today鈥檚 AI tools,鈥� it鈥檚 鈥渃an apply now, and keep adapting as the technology evolves.鈥�