Scandinavian people seem to think that the earliest age to start using AI is in the teens. Specifically, 80% of Finns believe that children under the age of 13 should not use AI. 38% of Finns believe that children should start using AI tools as early as the age of 16. Swedes (39%) and Danes (40%) agree with Finns on this issue. One in ten Finns believes that children should not use AI tools at all.
This means that people in Northern Europe are critical of the use of AI by children and young people. The study was conducted by technology company Solita and reported by STT in Finland.
Only 6% of Finns think it is appropriate to start using AI tools such as ChatGPT and Google Gemini at the age of 10. The survey found that Swedes are even more critical of children’s use of AI than Finns. This new report is based on a Kantar Media survey of more than 3,000 office and information workers in Finland, Sweden and Denmark.
Recently, there has been a lively debate around the world about young people’s use of social media. New research shows that Nordic countries are also cautious about the use of artificial intelligence tools by children and young people.
“The findings clearly demonstrate that Nordic countries place a high level of emphasis on media and AI literacy. Utilizing AI tools may seem ‘childishly easy’ at first glance, but in reality requires the maturity of a wide range of cognitive skills and the ability to question different content.” say Lasse GirlsResponsible for Solita’s in-house AI unit.
Meanwhile, a brain researcher with a Ph.D. in psychology, Mona Moisalabelieves that AI tools can help children learn. “In the hands of skilled teachers, artificial intelligence can be a tool to accelerate learning. But unless children learn to outsource their thinking, idea generation, and problem-solving to AI, their cognitive skill development will be threatened.”
