Advancing AI General Education for the Whole Society

Artificial intelligence, as a strategic technology leading a new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation, is profoundly changing the way humans produce and live. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized, “advancing AI education across all academic stages and general education for the whole society, continuously cultivating high-quality talent.” [1]1 Xi Jinping, “Speech at the 20th Collective Study Session of the Political Bureau of the 20th CPC Central Committee” (April 25, 2025). This is a reference to a specific high-level Party meeting where AI education policy was discussed. Against the backdrop of AI technology deeply integrating into fields such as education, healthcare, and finance, advancing AI general education for the whole society is not only an important measure to enhance the AI literacy of the entire population and seize the initiative in the digital era, but also a key pathway to share the dividends of technological progress and prevent potential risks. We should start from systematic construction, and through the improvement and innovation of educational objects, curricula, carriers, mechanisms, and guarantee systems, effectively promote AI general education for the whole society to be implemented in a solid and in-depth manner.

人工智能作为引领新一轮科技革命和产业变革的战略性技术，深刻改变着人类生产生活方式。习近平总书记强调，“推进人工智能全学段教育和全社会通识教育，源源不断培养高素质人才”。在人工智能技术深度融入教育、医疗、金融等领域的背景下，推进人工智能全社会通识教育，不仅是提升全民人工智能素养、掌握数字时代主动权的重要举措，更是共享技术进步红利、防范潜在风险的关键路径。应从体系化建设入手，通过教育对象、课程、载体、机制和保障体系等方面的完善和创新，切实促进人工智能全社会通识教育走实、走深。

Design tiered and categorized educational content. Age differences determine distinctions in cognitive models and learning abilities, while occupational differences determine different application scenarios for AI. To this end, it is necessary to take “tiered categorization, full-age coverage, lifelong growth” as the concept, design differentiated educational pathways for different groups, and form an AI general education paradigm of “everyone wants to learn, everyone can learn, everyone learns.” For student groups, a tiered and progressive training chain should be constructed in accordance with the spirit of documents such as the *Opinions on Accelerating the Digitalization of Education*, the *AI General Education Guide for Primary and Secondary Schools (2025 Edition)*, and the *AI Application Guide for Vocational Colleges*. [2]2 These are official Chinese government documents guiding the digitalization of education and the integration of AI into school curricula at various levels. In basic education, the primary school stage should be oriented toward perception and enlightenment, cultivating students’ interest in AI and basic application abilities through fun activities and other means; the junior high school stage should aim at understanding and application, cultivating students’ technical logic and engineering thinking through project practice; the senior high school stage should be project-driven, cultivating students’ systematic thinking and social responsibility through innovative project practice. Vocational education should focus on the technical application of AI and occupational adaptation, cultivating skilled talent for related occupations or industries, achieving deep integration of AI technology with vocational scenarios, and enhancing vocational competitiveness. Among these, secondary vocational education should focus on cultivating students’ ability to use AI technology to complete basic tasks; higher vocational college education should focus on cultivating students’ ability to independently design technical solutions using AI tools; vocational undergraduate education should focus on cultivating students’ ability to construct AI-empowered innovative business models. General higher education should focus on in-depth exploration of AI theory and interdisciplinary integration, guiding students to organically integrate AI with their own majors through the implementation of AI-integrated education, cultivating a group of research-oriented, composite, and application-oriented innovative talents. For occupational groups, an education and training system of “occupational scenarios + AI empowerment” can be established, setting personalized education according to the characteristics of different industries. For example, for professionals in healthcare, education, manufacturing, and service industries, a training system integrating “AI + industry” should be designed, such as training courses on intelligent diagnosis and treatment system operation, intelligent teaching assistant tool use, intelligent quality inspection system operation, and customer behavior intelligent analysis systems. For the elderly group, attention should be paid to age-friendly transformation, helping them cross the technological divide of the digital era through easy-to-understand explanations and demonstrations of intelligent technology application scenarios, achieving “learning and enjoyment in old age” in the intelligent era.

设计分层分类的教育内容。年龄差异决定了认知模式和学习能力存在区别，用户职业差异决定了人工智能应用场景的不同。为此，需要以“分层分类、全龄覆盖、终身成长”为理念，针对不同人群设计差异化的教育路径，形成“人人想学、人人能学、人人皆学”的人工智能通识教育范式。针对学生群体，应根据《关于加快推进教育数字化的意见》《中小学人工智能通识教育指南（2025年版）》《职业院校人工智能应用指引》等文件精神，构建分层递进的梯度培养链。在基础教育中，小学阶段应以感知启蒙为导向，通过趣味活动等方式，培养学生对人工智能的兴趣和基础应用能力；初中阶段应以理解和应用为目标，通过项目实践，培养学生的技术逻辑和工程思维；高中阶段应以项目为牵引，通过创新项目实践，培养学生的系统思维和社会责任。职业教育要侧重人工智能的技术应用和职业适配，为相关职业或行业培养技能型人才，实现人工智能技术与职业场景的深度融合，提升职业竞争力。其中，中职教育应着重学生利用人工智能技术完成基础任务的能力培养，高职专科教育重点培养学生运用人工智能工具独立设计技术解决方案的能力，职业本科教育则需侧重学生构建人工智能赋能创新业务模式的能力培养。普通高等教育要侧重人工智能理论的深度探究和跨学科融合，通过实施人工智能融合教育，引导学生将人工智能与本专业有机融合，培养出一批研究型、复合型和应用型创新人才。针对职业群体，可以建立“职业场景+人工智能赋能”的教育培养体系，依据不同行业特点，设置个性化教育。比如针对医疗、教育、制造业、服务业等职业人士，设计“人工智能+行业”融合的培训体系，如智能诊疗系统操作、智能助教工具使用、智能质检系统操作、客户行为智慧分析系统等培训课程。针对老年群体，应注重适老化改造，通过通俗易懂的讲解、智能技术的场景应用示范等方式，帮助他们跨越数字时代的技术鸿沟，实现智能时代的“老有所学、老有所乐”。

Construct a progressive and tiered curriculum system. To enhance the AI literacy of the entire population and strengthen rational cognition, application ability, and value judgment of AI, it is necessary to build an educational curriculum system that conforms to the laws of public cognition, the needs of ability progression, and the progressive development of literacy. First, basic general courses should mainly focus on the question of “what is AI,” helping the public build a cognitive framework and grasp the basic concepts, development history, application models, main functions, and social impacts of AI technology through online open courses, science popularization, and other forms. Second, skill application courses should focus on “how to use it,” setting personalized training for the practical application of AI in real scenarios for different groups, helping the public achieve a leap from theoretical cognition to practical application, master the ability of human-computer interaction, and truly make AI serve work and life. Finally, thinking and values courses should focus on “how to use it normatively,” using case studies, scenario simulations, and other forms to guide the public to form critical thinking, scientifically discern the value significance, potential risks, and rights-responsibility relationships of human-machine collaboration, and promote the public’s transformation from “being able to use” to “being good at using.”

构建阶梯递进的课程体系。为了提升全民的人工智能素养，强化对人工智能的理性认知、应用能力和价值判断，需要构建符合大众认知规律、能力进阶需求和素养递进发展的教育课程体系。首先，基础通识课程应主要聚焦人工智能“是什么”的问题，通过线上公开课、科普宣传等形式，帮助公众搭建认知框架，把握人工智能技术的基本概念、发展历程、应用模式、主要功能和社会影响。其次，技能应用课程应重点聚焦“怎么用”，面向不同群体设置人工智能实际场景应用的个性化培训，帮助大众实现从理论认知到实践应用的跨越，掌握人机交互的能力，让人工智能真正服务于工作和生活。最后，思维与价值观课程应侧重于“如何规范使用”，借助案例展示、情景模拟等形式，引导公众形成批判性思维，科学明辨人机协同的价值意义、潜在风险和权责关系，推动公众实现从“会用”到“善用”的转变。

Create a multi-dimensional and diverse educational carrier. To prevent some groups from being marginalized in the digital wave due to a lack of relevant education and to effectively break down barriers to knowledge dissemination, an online-offline integrated, virtual-real combined AI educational carrier can be built. Online, actively develop high-quality AI general courses, allowing the public to learn anytime and practice anywhere through “online cloud classrooms,” forming an inclusive knowledge dissemination ecology; at the same time, use large model platforms to build intelligent question-answering systems, solving personalized problems of the public through natural language interaction, achieving personalized customization of AI education. Offline, build diverse AI education scenarios, realize the social expansion of AI education scenarios, and form an immersive, multi-form ecosystem for cultivating AI literacy among the entire population. Public cultural venues such as science and technology museums, cultural centers, and libraries can actively carry out AI science popularization activities, set up AI interactive exhibition areas, and use AR and VR technologies to build immersive learning platforms, achieving concrete experiences of AI knowledge. Community service centers and rural cultural halls can leverage their advantage of being close to the public to create AI learning stations, equipping them with simple intelligent devices, regularly organizing AI experience activities, and setting up intelligent interactive Q&A systems, allowing people to come into contact with intelligent technology at any time in their daily lives, lowering the threshold for participation and allowing them to feel the charm of technology.

打造立体多元的教育载体。为避免部分群体因缺乏相关教育而在数字化浪潮中被边缘化，有效打破知识传播壁垒，可以搭建线上线下融合、虚实结合的人工智能教育载体。线上积极开发优质的人工智能通识课程，通过“线上云课堂”，让公众随时可学、随处可练，形成普惠性的知识传播生态；同时运用大模型平台搭建智能问答系统，通过自然语言交互解答群众个性化难题，实现人工智能教育的个性化定制。线下搭建多样化的人工智能教育场景，实现人工智能教育场景的社会化拓展，形成沉浸式、多形态的全民人工智能素养培育生态。科技馆、文化馆、图书馆等公共文化场所可以积极开展人工智能科普活动、设置人工智能互动展区，利用AR和VR技术搭建沉浸式学习平台，实现人工智能知识的具象化体验。社区服务中心、乡村文化礼堂可以发挥贴近社会大众的优势，打造人工智能学习站，通过配备简易智能设备、定期组织人工智能体验活动、设置智能互动问答系统等形式，让人们在日常生活中随时接触智能技术，降低参与门槛，感受技术魅力。

Establish a linkage mechanism integrating learning and assessment. To stimulate the enthusiasm of the entire population for learning AI and form a ubiquitous and accessible AI education system, a learning achievement recognition mechanism and an effectiveness evaluation mechanism should be actively constructed. In the learning achievement recognition mechanism, rely on the credit bank to create cross-regional, cross-scenario, cross-time personal lifelong learning accounts for learners, coordinate learners’ learning of AI courses, realize the recognition, accumulation, and transformation of achievements in a quantified form, and form traceable and accumulable AI literacy archives. At the same time, set up personalized and adaptable credit recognition systems according to the learning characteristics of different groups. Furthermore, to clarify the development status of AI literacy among the entire population and make timely adjustments to the relevant curriculum system, teaching carriers, and forms, an effectiveness evaluation mechanism covering dimensions such as knowledge, skills, thinking, and values should be explored and constructed. In the effectiveness evaluation mechanism, the differences among educational target groups should be fully considered, and differentiated indicator systems should be designed for different groups. For example, for student groups, the focus can be on evaluating their understanding of knowledge such as algorithms and data, and their ability to use AI to solve learning problems; for professionals, the focus can be on evaluating their ability to use AI to solve work problems, and the actual output effects of using AI in their work.

建立学评融通的联动机制。为了激发全民学习人工智能的积极性，形成泛在可及的人工智能教育体系，应积极构建学习成果认定机制和效果评估机制。在学习成果认定机制上，依托学分银行为学习者打造跨区域、跨场景、跨时间的个人终身学习账户，统筹学习者对人工智能课程的学习情况，以量化的形式实现成果的认证、积累和转化，形成可溯源、可累加的人工智能素养档案。同时，根据不同群体的学习特性，设置个性化、适配化的学分认证体系。此外，为了明晰全民人工智能素养的发展状况，对相关的课程体系、教学载体和形式进行及时调整，应探索构建覆盖知识、技能、思维和价值观等维度的效果评估机制。效果评估机制中要充分考虑教育对象群体的差异性，设计针对不同群体的差异化指标体系。例如，针对学生群体，可以重点评估其对算法、数据等知识的理解程度、运用人工智能解决学习问题的能力；针对职业人士，可重点评估其使用人工智能解决工作问题的能力，以及工作中运用人工智能的实际产出效果。

Optimize the multi-party collaborative guarantee system. Universal AI literacy education for the whole society is a systematic project. We should give full play to the leading role of Party committees and the guiding role of the government, and build a guarantee system featuring multi-party linkage, resource complementarity, and long-term operation, so as to lay a solid foundation for the implementation and effectiveness of universal AI literacy education for the whole society. The government should play a coordinating and leading role, improve relevant policies, clarify the standards and evaluation system for literacy education, and set up special funds to promote the development of educational resources and infrastructure construction. Enterprises, as the main body of technological innovation, should leverage their advantages in technology and capital to collaboratively develop AI online training platforms suitable for different industries, and proactively open up AI application scenarios and smart factories to provide the public with authentic and vivid teaching resources. Universities and colleges should give full play to their intellectual advantages, actively build AI literacy curriculum systems, and promote the integration of AI education in primary, secondary, and tertiary schools; strengthen the training of teaching staff, and by establishing AI teacher training bases, create interdisciplinary AI teaching teams to help improve the AI literacy of primary and secondary school teachers. Social organizations, such as scientific and technological societies, should utilize their advantages of gathering cross-industry and cross-disciplinary intellectual resources to form science popularization expert teams and compile easy-to-understand popular science reading materials. The media can enhance communication effectiveness by setting up special AI science popularization topics and columns, inviting experts to interpret knowledge, creating short videos, and conducting live broadcasts, thereby creating a strong atmosphere for the whole society to actively learn AI knowledge.

优化多方协同的保障体系。人工智能全社会通识教育是一项系统工程，应充分发挥党委领导和政府主导作用，构建多方联动、资源互补、长效运行的保障体系，为人工智能全社会通识教育的落实见效夯实根基。政府应发挥统筹引领作用，完善相关政策，明确通识教育的标准和评价体系，设立专项资金以促进教育资源的开发和基础设施建设。企业作为技术创新的主体，应发挥技术、资金等优势，协作开发适合不同行业的人工智能在线培训平台，主动开放人工智能应用场景和智能工厂，为社会大众提供真实、生动的教学资源。高校要充分发挥智力优势，积极开展人工智能通识课程体系建设，推进大中小学人工智能教育一体化工作；强化师资队伍培养，通过建立人工智能师资培训基地，打造跨学科人工智能教学团队，助力中小学教师人工智能素养提升。社会组织如科技社团应利用自身跨行业、跨学科智力荟萃的优势，组建科普专家团队编写通俗易懂的科普读物。媒体可通过设立人工智能科普专题专栏、邀请专家解读知识、创作短视频和开展直播等形式来增强传播效果，营造全民主动学习人工智能知识的浓厚氛围。

(Authors: Ai Zhiqiang and Zhu Lingling, both are researchers at the Zhejiang Provincial Research Center for Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, and are respectively a professor and a lecturer at Huzhou University)

（作者：艾志强、祝玲玲，均系浙江省习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想研究中心研究员，分别系湖州师范学院教授、讲师）

Online Editor: Huihui

网络编辑：慧慧