AI education guidelines updated by European Commission
AI education guidance has been updated to address generative AI, student data, high-risk systems, transparency and human oversight in schools.
Updated European Commission guidelines on the ethical use of AI and data in teaching and learning aim to help teachers and school leaders use the technology safely and responsibly in line with EU values.
The revised edition updates the Commission’s 2022 guidance to reflect the rapid growth of generative AI in education and the implications of the EU AI Act. The document is non-binding and is intended to support teachers, school leaders and education authorities, rather than serve as enforcement guidance on the AI Act.
AI tools can support lesson planning, personalised learning, assessment, feedback, school administration and the early identification of learning needs, according to the guidelines. At the same time, they warn that general-purpose AI tools were not designed specifically for education and may lack appropriate safeguards.
Ethical and legal considerations should not be treated as an add-on to AI use in schools, but as fundamental to how the technology is understood, adopted and applied, the Commission says. The guidelines highlight risks linked to bias, privacy, lack of transparency, over-reliance, academic integrity and the use of student data by commercial technology providers.
Rules under EU AI Act and the General Data Protection Regulation are also explained in the document. Some AI systems used for admissions, grading, behavioural monitoring, student progress tracking or detecting prohibited behaviour during tests may be classified as high-risk, while emotion recognition systems are prohibited in educational settings except for medical or safety-related reasons.
Key ethical considerations identified in the guidelines include human dignity, fairness, trustworthiness, academic integrity and justified choice. They also provide guiding questions for teachers and schools on human oversight, transparency, explainability, diversity, inclusion, privacy, safety and accountability.
Executive Vice-President Roxana Mînzatu says the ethical use of AI must remain the guiding principle and that teachers are ‘uniquely placed to act as ethical guardians for their students’. The Commission frames the update as part of wider EU work on digital education, skills, AI literacy and the future of education systems in the age of AI.
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