5 min Click here to listen to this article

Share via Close extra sharing options Email Facebook X LinkedIn Threads Reddit WhatsApp Copy Link URL Copied! Print

Copy Link URL Copied!

This is read by an automated voice. Please report any issues or inconsistencies here.

Norway is, by almost any metric, a profoundly successful nation. It’s rich, democratic and relatively corruption-free. It’s not a socialist country, but fans of a robust welfare state and high taxes see much to admire in the very progressive Norwegian model. It also benefits from having the biggest and arguably best-run sovereign wealth fund in the world.

And yet, Norway nearly ruined its children.

In 2016, flush with cash and progressive values, Norway gave every child in the country, starting at the age of 5, their own iPad or similar digital device. A decade later, young Norwegians now struggle to read. “Around 500,000 Norwegians, in a population of only 5.6 million, cannot read a text message or simple instructions,” reports The Times of London. “Of the 65 countries measured for children’s enjoyment of reading by Pirls (Progress in International Reading Literacy Study), it comes bottom.”

Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store launched a program in August to deal with the problem. “Norwegian children used to be among the best readers in the world,” he said at the time. “But today, 15,000 pupils finish primary school without being able to read properly.”

Now imagine giving every child an AI chatbot to answer all of their questions.

I am not a catastrophist when it comes to artificial intelligence. But, given Norway’s experience with iPads — or our own with smartphones — I worry that the mass introduction of AI, particularly in schools, will be very bad for........

© Los Angeles Times