AI Classes Start at Elementary Level
In a radical initiative to equip the coming generation for the AI age, the city of Hangzhou in China’s eastern Zhejiang province will introduce mandatory artificial intelligence classes in all primary and secondary schools. From this semester onwards, students will be getting a minimum of 10 hours of education on AI annually, state media report.
The educational bureau of the city has released guidelines specifying curriculum plans and teacher skills standards. According to officials, the objective is to instill AI abilities at an early age, form a responsible approach to the technology, and develop a workforce for the future. Schools can teach the subject intensively for a specified duration or incorporate AI content in current subject lessons such as science and information technology. After-school programmes will also include AI-related activities.
From Simple Projects to Algorithms
For younger kids in grades one and two, instruction will include identifying AI use in everyday life and working with devices that are fuelled by the technology. Privacy protection and ethical use will be main threads.
By third and fourth grade, kids will be taught hands-on AI tools, applying them to gather text, images, and audio for school assignments. With adult guidance, they will plan basic projects to demonstrate what they know.
Middle school students will progress further into the topic, learning from data preparation to model training, in addition to understanding algorithmic concepts like reasoning and brute-force search. High school students will engage in advanced, project-based education, building fundamental AI systems and getting practical experience in using AI on real-world problems.
Hangzhou’s Expanding Tech Ecosystem
The project highlights Hangzhou’s increasing status as an innovation hotbed. With a population of almost eight million, the city has been thrust onto the world stage by DeepSeek, a ChatGPT-like AI startup that left the technology community reeling earlier this year.
Local press have referred to Hangzhou’s top firms as the “Six Dragons of Hangzhou.” In addition to DeepSeek, they comprise robotics companies Unitree and Deep Robotics, which create rescue machines and inspection equipment, software company Manycore Technology, game developer GameScience, and BrainCo, which researches brain-computer interfaces.
The metropolis is also home to Alibaba Group, the e-commerce and cloud computing leader that has long been the anchor of Hangzhou’s technology world. Combined, these companies are transforming the city into a hotbed of high-tech talent and investment.
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Shaping the Future Workforce
By incorporating AI into school courses, Hangzhou hopes not only to equip the next generation with skills to take tomorrow’s workplace by storm but also with a consciousness of the ethical and responsible application of cutting-edge technologies. The initiative reflects China’s desire to take the lead in AI innovation by making sure that future generations speak the language of algorithms.
