Canada needs national AI literacy strategy: Opinion

Without a national AI literacy strategy, Canada is leaving students and teachers ill-equipped to navigate artificial intelligence in education, warns Brock University professor Mohammed Estaiteyeh. Estaiteyeh explains that AI literacy gives learners the awareness, understanding, and critical thinking skills that they need to make safe, informed decisions about AI tools and assess their output. The author highlights how other countries are implementing national AI education initiatives and calls on Canada to create a co-ordinated strategy. This strategy would provide educators with the professional development and toolkits they need to guide students, ensure students develop AI literacy, and support collaboration between stakeholders. “Whether you think AI is good or bad,” he writes, “our kids need to learn about this technology and how to use it responsibly.”