Norway imposes near ban on AI in elementary school

Norway will impose a near ban on generative AI tools in elementary school, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said at a press conference on Friday. The government is also restricting AI use in the education of older pupils in order to prevent a negative effect on learning. The new standards apply from the school year that begins in late August.

Pupils in grades one through seven, aged six to 13, should as a general rule not use AI at all, the government said. In lower secondary school, students aged 14 to 16 may adopt such tools cautiously and only under teachers' supervision. In upper secondary education, from 17 to 19, students should learn to use AI appropriately so that they are prepared for further education and work.

Reading, writing and mathematics come first

Støre said using AI increases the risk that young children skip important steps in their education. "The most important thing in school is that our children learn to read, write and do mathematics," he said. The decision follows a broad decline in education test scores: Norway banned smartphones from schools in 2024 and has given teachers back more powers to enforce discipline in the classroom.

Two decades of screens in the classroom

Norway began adopting computers in classrooms in the 1990s and added tablets after the iPad arrived in 2010, reducing the reliance on books and handwriting. The country is now moving in the opposite direction on two fronts: in April the government announced plans to keep children off social media until they turn 16, following a trend pioneered by Australia and other nations trying to limit young people's use of electronic devices.

The rules make Norway one of the first countries to draw a clear line between basic literacy and AI assistance at school, while leaving room for supervised use in the later years of education.