AI Classes Are the Computer Classes of the Next Generation
Published on: 18 February 2026
By Ryan O’Meara TD, Fianna Fáil Spokesperson on Education
When I first sat in a computer room in school, tapping out a few lines on a keyboard, none of us realised how completely those early lessons would shape the world we were stepping into. We thought we were learning something small and technical. In reality, we were being equipped for a future we couldn’t yet imagine.
Today, children are standing at that same threshold, but this time the technology is artificial intelligence, and the pace of change is far faster. We once learned digital skills because computers were beginning to reshape how people worked and learned. Now AI is doing the same, only more quickly and more profoundly. We are only starting to understand how deeply it is embedding itself in everyday life and how significant its impact will be on our children.
We also need to be honest with ourselves and acknowledge that our children’s lives are already being shaped by AI. Children already have access to these tools and, without our guidance, are beginning to rely on them in both their everyday lives and in their education.
A 2024 survey in the United Kingdom found that over 77 percent of 13 to 18-year-olds had used generative AI, with young people almost twice as likely as adults to be using it. The most common uses were helping with homework and entertainment.
There is also strong support for addressing the rise in AI use. An Irish survey carried out in August 2025 by the National Parents Council found that more than 77 percent of parents supported teaching children how AI works and how to use it responsibly. We have an obligation to get ahead of this.
AI is already changing how students research, write, study, and solve problems, often with little or no guidance. Whether we like it or not, AI will play a huge role in how the next generation lives and works. Just as computers transformed what we needed to learn, AI is now doing the same but at a far greater speed.
That is why introducing dedicated AI classes should be the next step in preparing students for the world ahead.
At present, AI education is addressed across the education system rather than through dedicated classes. Digital and AI literacy are embedded across subjects such as English and SPHE, with more explicit engagement available in optional areas like Digital Media Literacy and Leaving Certificate Computer Science. These measures represent positive progress, but we have the opportunity to go further.
By building on the progress already made, we can ensure that young people have the guidance they need to use one of the most powerful tools ever created with confidence and care. Introducing dedicated weekly classes would help ensure our children are properly equipped for the world they are growing up in and ready to make the most of the opportunities AI presents.
These classes should teach students how to identify AI-generated content, something that even many adults now struggle to do. They should address the ethical use of AI, including responsibility, bias, and accountability. Students need to understand not just what AI can do, but its limitations, its risks, and the consequences of misuse.
Just as importantly, these classes should show students how to use AI as a support tool, not as a shortcut or a substitute for thinking, but as an aid to learning that complements creativity, critical thinking and independent work. This education must also sit alongside clear obligations on technology companies to implement safeguards, and on Government to ensure those obligations are upheld.
Just as calculators and computers changed how students learned maths and research, AI will change how students learn across every subject. That shift is already underway, and pretending otherwise will not slow it down. If anything, it risks leaving students unprepared for what is coming.
So the question is not whether AI belongs in our education system. It already does.
The real question is whether we will teach our children how to use it properly, or leave them to figure it out alone.
As former Taoiseach Seán Lemass said, “You can’t opt out of the future.”
If we fail to act now, it will not be technology that leaves our children behind, but our own hesitation.