Learning to collaborate with artificial intelligence in an informed way
When teachers talk about artificial intelligence, the first questions are rarely technical. “Can I trust what this tool produces?”, “What happens to my students” data?', ‘How can I ensure that AI supports learning, rather than replacing it?’
These are the same questions that Elisa Chierchiello hears every day in schools and training courses throughout Italy. And they are questions that resonate fully with the message of World Safer Internet Day (10 February), which today invites us to reflect on the theme "Smart tech, safe choices. Exploring the safe and responsible use of AI'.
Elisa has been working with the Fondazione Mondo Digitale as a trainer for over six years. She is a PhD student in Computer Science at the University of Turin and has a Master's degree in Artificial Intelligence. But when she enters the classroom or meets with teachers, the conversation almost never starts with algorithms. It starts with concerns. Many teachers feel torn between curiosity and caution. Artificial intelligence is already part of students' everyday lives, but its role in schools is still to be established. There is interest, but also fear: of losing control, of spreading misinformation, of causing damage without meaning to. ‘What I see,’ says Elisa, ‘is that teachers don't want to ban AI. They want to understand it well enough to be able to use it responsibly.’
From uncertainty to understanding
This is where Experience AI comes in. The programme, developed by the Raspberry Pi Foundation and Google DeepMind, and promoted in Italy by Fondazione Mondo Digitale, is a free training course for teachers of all levels. Its goal is simple and transformative: to turn uncertainty into knowledge and fear into competence. During the training activities, teachers explore how AI systems really work, what their limitations are and why issues such as bias, transparency and data protection are central to everyday teaching. And as understanding grows, something changes. AI ceases to be a black box. It becomes a tool: powerful, imperfect, to be guided.
Learning to ask better questions
One of the most noticeable changes Elisa observes is not about technology, but about the way of thinking. Teachers begin to ask themselves different questions and help students do the same. “Why did the system produce this particular answer?”, “What information is missing?”, “What points of view are not represented?”.
Through practical activities, live webinars and on-demand resources, Experience AI supports this transition by working on three key dimensions:
- Ethics and bias, to critically interpret the results generated by AI;
- Critical thinking, to make informed and non-automatic choices;
- Inclusion, because knowledge about AI is a right, not a skill reserved for the few.
In a country where, according to the DESI 2025 index, just over half of the population has basic digital skills, talking about online safety without addressing the issue of AI literacy is no longer enough. For this reason, for the Fondazione Mondo Digitale, Safer Internet Day is not just an anniversary. It is a reminder: education is our strongest defence and our greatest opportunity. Because smart technologies are not neutral. But when accompanied by education, critical thinking and responsibility, they can become a safe space for growth for the younger generation. And it is this choice that makes technology truly smart.
