Only around 5% of Romanian companies use artificial intelligence effectively, compared with 20% at European level, MEP and Vice-President of the European Parliament Victor Negrescu said.

According to him, European efforts to regulate and promote AI literacy 'are no longer sufficient' in a competitive global market.

'While we are discussing the responsible use of artificial intelligence, others are already learning how to build it, how to turn it into something useful for productivity and above all how to win the global economic competition. In this regard, we must acknowledge that Romania is starting with a serious handicap. Only around 5% of Romanian companies use artificial intelligence effectively, compared with 20% at European level,' Negrescu said in a message delivered on the occasion of the second edition of the 'Education in the Age of AI' Conference, held at the Palace of Parliament.

Victor Negrescu added that artificial intelligence should not replace teachers but it can help them generate exercises, prepare classroom materials and reduce the time spent on bureaucratic tasks.

'AI can give teachers back something that the system has unfortunately taken away from them too often: time for children. But to achieve this, we need to do a few very concrete things. Every teacher should have free access to practical training on how to use artificial intelligence. Not a theoretical course on the definition of AI. A teacher should walk into the classroom on Monday morning knowing how to use the technology in mathematics, history, Romanian language lessons or in a laboratory. Secondly, we need an AI assistant for education, whether European or Romanian. And, of course, it must be accessible in schools. We cannot ask teachers to upload children's assignments, personal data or school information to any platform available on the internet,' he said.

Negrescu also suggested changing the skills that are assessed, given that homework can be completed quickly with the help of AI. In this regard, he proposed that the following should also be assessed: the ability to argue, verify information, compare sources, work in a team, create and ask questions correctly.

'In the age of artificial intelligence, memorisation matters but I believe discernment will matter even more. A pupil can receive a perfectly worded answer from AI that is completely false. So pupils must know how to recognise the correct answer,' he explained.

According to him, pupils need to understand how artificial intelligence works, what an algorithm is, why errors can occur, what happens to personal data, how to recognise a deepfake and how AI can be used 'to create, not to copy.'

The MEP stressed that Romania must not be 'just a market' for artificial intelligence produced elsewhere.

'I would like us to have Romanian companies developing AI solutions adapted to education - and we have several companies that are still at an early stage. I would like Romanian researchers to build models. I would like teachers to experiment and pupils to create because I have confidence in the younger generation,' he said.

Future graduates will need qualities such as curiosity, creativity, critical thinking, digital skills, the ability to keep learning throughout their lives and to 'remain human' in a world where technology will be able to do more and more things, Negrescu added.

'AI is already in every pupil's pocket. It can write an essay, solve a problem, translate a text and generate a presentation in a few seconds. We can tell a child not to use it. They will probably use it anyway. Or we can simply modernise the school. The only possible choice, and we have to be realistic, is the second option. (...) Artificial intelligence will not replace a good teacher. But a teacher who knows how to use artificial intelligence will certainly have an enormous advantage. AI will not eliminate the need for education. It will make good education more important and more accessible than ever,' he said. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Irinela Visan; EN - writing by: Adina Panaitescu)