Above: Image courtesy OpenAI.

OpenAI announced a new Education for Countries initiative as part of its OpenAI for Countries initiative, an effort to build “democratic AI” that is modeled on its Stargate project an America focused investment in AI infrastrcuture that it announced earlier in January in partnership with Oracle and Softbank. The project has started with a supercomputing campus in Abilene, Texas.

The first cohort of the Education for Countries outreach is composed of Estonia, Greece, Italy’s Conference of University Rectors (CRUI), Jordan, Kazakhstan, Slovakia, Trinidad & Tobago, and the United Arab Emirates.

“We will work with governments and university consortia to bring AI into education systems to personalize learning, reduce administrative burden, and prepare students for the workforce,” OpenAI said in a statement released today.

“AI tools like ChatGPT Edu have already been deployed nationwide in Estonia, across public universities and secondary schools, reaching more than 30,000 students, educators, and researchers in its first year. Longitudinal research partnerships are also underway, such as a large-scale study with the University of Tartu and Stanford, to measure how AI affects learning outcomes among 20,000 students over time.”

“As AI is introduced at scale, rollouts typically follow a phased approach, starting by equipping educators with the tools and training they need to lead AI use in classrooms. In higher education, ChatGPT Edu is already available to students. In high schools, student access begins through small pilots developed in close collaboration with local leaders, to ensure safety and alignment with local curricula.”

“These pilots are paired with ongoing work by OpenAI to strengthen protections for young people who use ChatGPT, including age-appropriate model behavior improvements and developing AI literacy content for educators with trusted partners like Common Sense Media.”

The full statement on the Education for Countries project is here. OpenAI’s statement on AI for Countries is here.