Finnish Education Instructs Children as Young as Three to Recognize AI-Generated Content

Photo: varga.jovica/Depositphotos

As AI and algorithm-driven biases escalate, fake news proliferates—and alarmingly—it’s becoming progressively more challenging to identify. However, in Finland, the upcoming generation is being trained to discern what is authentic and what is not from an early age. Since the 1990s, this innovative country has integrated media literacy into its national curriculum, instructing children as young as three on how to evaluate various media forms and identify disinformation.

While students have been acquiring skills to critically evaluate media headlines and articles for several years, they are now being taught to recognize images or videos created with AI. This specific initiative for media literacy has intensified in recent years, particularly as Russia heightened its disinformation efforts across Europe following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

From AI-generated deep fakes to political propaganda, deciphering untrustworthy content is not always straightforward, but Finns are learning to recognize what to be wary of. These skills are so ingrained in daily life that the nation’s 5.6 million inhabitants consistently rank Finland at the forefront of the European Media Literacy Index. “We believe that possessing strong media literacy skills is a significant civic competence,” states Kiia Hakkala, a pedagogical expert for the City of Helsinki. “It is vital for the safety of the nation and the security of our democracy.”

However, it isn’t solely the educators’ duty. Finnish media also assume responsibility by organizing an annual “Newspaper Week,” during which news articles are provided to youth for reading and interpretation. Additionally, in 2024, Helsinki-based Helsingin Sanomat partnered on a new “ABC Book of Media Literacy,” which is distributed to every 15-year-old in Finland as they commence upper secondary education.

Find out more about how media literacy is being instructed in Finnish schools in the video below.

Finland has integrated media literacy into its national curriculum, instructing children as young as three on how to identify disinformation.

Source: Finnish children learn media literacy at 3 years old. It’s protection against Russian propaganda

Related Articles:
Denmark Seeks To Combat AI-Generated Deepfakes Through Ambitious Copyright Laws
World Happiness Report Releases 2024 List of “Happiest Countries in the World” and Finland Is #1 Again
Finland Is Redefining What a Library Can Be With Free Access to Creative Tools
‘Democracy’s Library’ by The Internet Archive Contains Government Research Accessible for All