The background material compiles the knowledge base for AI recommendations and supports education providers and teachers in developing AI competence and utilizing AI locally.

The background material covers various themes and should be used as a whole.

The term AI literacy generally refers to the skills that individuals need in order to understand, utilise and critically assess AI technologies and their impacts. AI literacy can be considered to include:

  • understanding of the operating principles of AI  
  • the ability to use and apply AI  
  • the ability to assess AI applications and their outputs, and  
  • the ability to use AI ethically and responsibly.

However, as of yet there is no single official national definition of AI literacy. 

According to the EU AI Act (Definitions, item 56), “‘AI literacy’ means skills, knowledge and understanding that allow providers, deployers and affected persons, taking into account their respective rights and obligations in the context of this Regulation, to make an informed deployment of AI systems, as well as to gain awareness about the opportunities and risks of AI and possible harm it can cause”. Thus, AI literacy also encompasses the skills detailed in the AI Act to make an informed deployment of AI systems, as well as to gain awareness about the opportunities and risks of AI and possible harm it can cause. Furthermore, the AI Act states that providers and deployers of AI systems that are subject to the AI Act shall take measures to ensure, to their best extent, a sufficient level of AI literacy of their staff and other persons dealing with the operation and use of AI systems on their behalf. The sufficient level of AI literacy described in the AI Act is thus strongly dependent on which context and from whose perspective it is examined.

AI literacy can be considered part of multiliteracy. This means expanding the concept of multiliteracy to cover the ability to understand and use AI critically. Multiliteracy can be thought of as the goal of literacy development, providing the reader with extensive text skills and the ability to critically examine the origin and means of expression of texts. Although AI literacy emphasises new types of knowledge, skills and strategies, it is built upon basic literacy. Fluent reading skills support interaction with AI and free up resources for more demanding thinking. Good reading comprehension contributes to the interpretation and assessment of the information generated by AI and the integration of new information into the reader’s own prior knowledge. Multidimensional and strong multiliteracy facilitates the development of critical thinking and the knowledge and skills necessary to utilise emerging AI technologies in learning and work.   

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The need to define not only AI literacy, but also other literacy needs arising from the transformation of digital society has been recognised in various levels of public administration. These needs arise from regulatory changes on the one hand and from digital cultural phenomena on the other.  

The project “Valtioneuvoston tekoälykokonaisuuden koordinaatio ja datatalouden kasvuohjelma” (“Coordination of Government AI and the Data Economy Growth Programme”) will structure the content of AI competence at the national level together with stakeholders. The competence needs related to AI will also be examined at the level of the entire Government as part of the updating of Finland's Digital Compass. As regards the education administration, a more detailed definition of AI literacy will be prepared on the basis of the aforementioned work, taking into account various related initiatives and development needs. Descriptions of various digital literacy skills must be prepared in a centralised manner, taking into account national core curricula and qualification requirements and the links between them, so that they form a coherent whole for learners and staff. 

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