The schools in Asia embracing artificial intelligence in classrooms

Anaiya Singhvi loves school, but she often finds chemistry tough going.

“It’s kind of hard to visualise in real life since it’s about molecules and atoms,” the Singapore-based secondary school student said.

“I’ve been using AI to help me with that.”

Anaiya Singhvi uses AI in her studies with some guidance from her father, Vishal. (Supplied: Vishal Singhvi)

The 15-year-old uses generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools like Google’s Notebook LM to explain concepts, summarise documents and answer her questions when studying at home.

“It’s really been a lifesaver for any last-minute questions, especially before examinations,” she said.

Singapore is one of several Asian countries fast adopting AI in education.

At Saint Anthony’s Canossian Secondary School, where Anaiya studies, the chemistry department uses AI to help students identify topics to focus on, based on their incorrect answers in practice exams.

“I’m now able to do targeted revision in the topics I am weaker in, rather than studying all of them,” she said.

“This really made studying chemistry a lot easier for me.”

Anaiya Singhvi is passionate about animal welfare and sustainability, and says learning to use AI will help as she pursues a career in these fields. (Supplied: Vishal Singhvi)

Elsewhere in Asia, nations have declared their ambitions to use and teach AI in schools as they jostle to lead a global race for dominance in the technology.

Parts of China are making it compulsory, with some schools required to teach at least six hours of AI education a year for lower-grade students, and one hour a fortnight for higher grades.

But in some countries, ambitious plans to roll out AI tech in schools have met backlash.

The push to bring AI into schools also coincides with emerging research about the technology’s potential risks for students, particularly their creativity and critical thinking.