For decades, Finland has woven media literacy, including the ability to analyze different kinds of media and recognize misinformation, into its national curriculum for students as young as 3 years old. The coursework is part of a robust anti-misinformation program to make Finns more resistant to propaganda and false claims. Now, teachers are tasked with adding AI literacy to their curriculum. At Tapanila Primary School, in a quiet neighborhood north of Helsinki, teacher Ville Vanhanen taught a group of 4th-graders how to spot fake news. He says his students have been learning about fake news for years, beginning with reading headlines and short texts. Recently, the class was tasked with coming up with five things to look out for when reading online news to ensure that it’s trustworthy. Now they’re moving on to AI literacy, which is quickly becoming a vital skill. “We’ve been studying how to recognize if a picture or a video is made by AI,” added Vanhanen. The skills are so ingrained into the culture that the Nordic nation of 5.6 million people regularly ranks at the top of the European Media Literacy Index.
