- Following DeepSeek’s explosive success, AI classes are coming to primary and secondary schools in China's capital, Beijing—and it’s not the only country that’s training kids to be the next Liang Wenfeng.
China has a new secret weapon in the global AI-wars: elementary school kids. Beijing is training its next cohort of tech CEOs before they’ve even left the playground.
Starting this fall semester, primary and secondary schools in Beijing will offer at least eight hours of AI classes every academic year—with students as young as six years old being taught how to use chatbots and other tools, general background on the technology, and AI ethics.
In a recent statement, the Beijing Municipal Education Commission said that schools can integrate the courses with existing studies like information technology or science, or let them stand alone. It also outlines plans to construct a multi-year AI curriculum, build a general AI education and training system, roll out a support system, and drum up promotion of the study.
China’s capital hopes this training will bolster the country’s strength in winning the AI wars—especially after DeepSeek’s explosive entry onto the scene. And efforts are well underway; last December, China’s Ministry of Education announced that it selected 184 Chinese schools to pilot models and programs in the AI curriculum to serve as a basis for wider programming. And Huai Jinpeng, the minister of the government agency, said that AI is the “golden key” for the country’s educational system.
Beijing's schools may be trying to replicate the success it's seen out of Zhejiang University in Hangzhou—where two of China’s most prominent tech leaders, DeepSeek’s Liang Wenfeng and Unitree’s Wang Xingxing both graduated from. By getting students to grips with AI at an even younger age, the nation’s capital could see an explosion of innovation—if it can keep pace with other countries also integrating AI into school curriculums.
International efforts to train students in the global AI race
China isn’t the only country to bring AI to kids.
Estonia’s government announced a partnership with OpenAI last month to equip secondary school students and teachers with ChatGPT Edu, a version of ChatGPT customized for education systems. It will be rolled out among 10th and 11th graders in the country starting September this year, and the collaboration will also entail technical assistance, administrative task streamlining, study support, and lesson planning.
“We are now starting a new chapter in the development of our education system and digital society,” Estonian President Alar Karis said. “Artificial intelligence has permanently changed the world, and like all sectors, the education system must adapt to these changes.”
Other countries like Canada and South Korea have also integrated the advanced tech into K-12 studies, including using AI-powered digital textbooks and programs for teachers to integrate AI in class. A private school in the U.K. similarly launched a “teacherless” classroom last year, where about 20 students used virtual reality headsets and AI platforms to learn instead of listening to humans. And American education provider McGraw Hill launched two genAI tools for the classroom in 2024: AI Reader to mark up digital books and Writing Assistant to get specific feedback in the writing process.
Despite the waves AI can make in learning, education companies and ministries head caution with overreliance on tech tools. Advanced tech has the capability to be anyone’s personal tutor—free of charge—which can be conveniently accessed on any device. But there are risks, too. The United Nations has stressed children’s safety by using inclusive AI tools, setting clear guidelines, emphasizing “humanity” at the center of the curriculums, and managing risk. And education business leaders echo the same considerations.
“Our levels of brand trust are so high that the greatest risk for us is not moving too slowly on AI, it’s moving too fast on AI,” Dylan Arena, chief data science and AI officer at McGraw Hill, told Fortune.
