Joining hands with Lite-On, TSMC, Acer and Germany's Friedrich Naumann Foundation to advance AI Literacy for All
[Press Release — CommonWealth Education Innovation Hub]
As generative AI rapidly becomes part of everyday life, children's understanding and use of technology have moved beyond what anyone imagined. On August 10, the CommonWealth Education Innovation Hub released the "2026 National AI Literacy Survey of Parents, Teachers and Students in Primary and Middle Schools"—Taiwan's first survey to compare the perspectives of students, teachers and parents side by side. The findings show that students' "AI-can-do-anything" myth and their "fear of being replaced" have dropped markedly, suggesting that children are moving from curiosity toward rational judgment. At the same time, the survey highlights a nearly six-fold gap regarding cognitive offloading between students' self-reports and the observations of teachers, as well as a new phenomenon: as many as 27.7% of students treat AI as an "emotional confidant."
To bridge the communication gap between home and school and respond to needs on the front line, the Hub's AI Literacy for All initiative has entered its second year. Having begun as an advocacy initiative in year one, it has now moved beyond advocacy to hands-on practice, launching the "AI Literacy Back-to-School Day" to bring AI literacy into real classrooms. The August 10 event brought together cross-sector corporate and international partners—the TSMC Education and Culture Foundation, the Lite-On Cultural Foundation, the Acer Foundation and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom (FNF) of Germany—alongside experts including Professor Kuen-Yi Lin of National Taiwan Normal University, Professor Mei-chen Chang of National Kaohsiung Normal University, and counseling psychologist Chih-heng Chen. In addition to bringing in resources from MIT RAISE and Day of AI, the program has officially launched its second phase, "AI in Everyday Life," a 15-lesson course series with three parent–child handbooks, and has extended its in-person workshops to the outlying islands of Lienchiang (Matsu) and Kinmen for the first time. Having already surpassed its three-year target of 1,000 schools, the program continues toward its goals of 4,400 teachers and 300,000 students.
Group photo of the AI Literacy Education Alliance, bringing together partners from industry, government and academia.
Three Key Findings: The More Children Use AI, the Clearer They See—and Adults' Communication and Guidance Become Key
The survey was conducted from April to June 2026 across all 22 counties and cities in Taiwan. A total of 3,392 student, 1,077 teacher and 3,940 parent questionnaires were collected; after rigorously excluding invalid samples, 3,112 student, 993 teacher and 3,455 parent responses remained.
Nationwide, 93.5% of students and 98.9% of teachers have used AI. Compared with 2025, the share of students who believe "you can ask AI anything" fell from 34.1% to 22.9%, and anxiety about being replaced dropped to 31.4%. Although children's risk awareness has risen significantly (50.6% believe AI generates false information), only 46.8% of students know how to properly verify suspicious information when they encounter it.
For the first time, the survey also set the three perspectives—students, teachers and parents—side by side.
- Children outsource their thinking without realizing it: 79.1% of teachers observed that students "only want the answer and don't value the problem-solving process," yet only 13.5% of students recognized this in themselves—a gap of nearly six-fold, pointing to an unconscious pattern of "cognitive offloading." Teachers and parents alike also observed that children "would rather have AI give the answer directly than work through the process," "usually don't stop to consider whether AI's answer is actually correct," and "turn to AI as their first instinct when facing a problem"—at rates far higher than students themselves reported.
- AI has become children's confidant: 27.7% of children turn to AI to talk about their feelings when they are upset or under stress. In addition, 25.2% and 28% of children respectively find chatting with AI more relaxing than talking with parents or teachers. The proportion is higher among elementary school students than among junior high students, showing that the younger the child, the more guidance they need. Yet only 14.7% of parents were aware of this—underscoring the importance of starting family guidance early.
- A gap between home and school calls for "home–school cooperation" and "clear guidelines": as many as 84% of parents said they had never discussed their children's AI use with teachers, and 66.8% of teachers said they had never done so with parents, revealing a clear communication gap. Notably, 82.1% of parents expect schools to teach the proper use of AI. However, only 6.5% of parents are clear about their school's AI policy. This shows that schools not only need explicit guidelines on AI use, but should also actively build diverse channels for proactive parent–teacher communication, closing the information gap so that home–school cooperation can truly take hold.
From right: Shu-Chuan Yang, Executive Director of the CommonWealth Education Innovation Hub; Professor Mei-Chen Chang, National Kaohsiung Normal University; counseling psychologist Chih-heng Chen; Professor Kuen-Yi Lin, National Taiwan Normal University.
Drawing on a detailed analysis of the survey, Professor Kuen-Yi Lin noted that children's cognitive offloading has many different dimensions and levels, and teachers can use these findings to design different forms of assessment and assignments that help children avoid the traps of easily obtained answers. Counseling psychologist Chih-Heng Chen added that children chatting with AI may be an irresistible trend, but adults can reflect on why children prefer talking with AI, what AI's distinctive qualities are, and what parents are worried about—for example, by helping children set safe boundaries and talking about issues such as privacy. Professor Mei-Chen Chang also pointed out that the growing importance of the family's role, together with the communication, expectations and gaps among parents, teachers and schools, tells us that AI literacy should enter a new era of co-creation and co-learning by all parties.
From Advocacy to the Classroom: "AI Literacy Back-to-School Day" Creates Immersive Experiences and an Education Setting for Everyone
Amy Ho, Chairperson of the CommonWealth Education Innovation Hub, said: "A year ago, everyone was still debating whether to ban AI. A year later, the data tell us that children have already moved on to the next question. AI literacy is not just a lesson for students—it is a required course for all adults. Parents with rich workplace experience who have used AI themselves report less parenting anxiety and are better able to give their children positive guidance. This means that businesses and civic organizations are also important settings for AI literacy education."
Sophia Chang, Executive Director of the Lite-On Cultural Foundation, said: "The greatest risk of AI has never been machines becoming smarter than people, but people gradually losing their ability to think independently and critically as they come to depend on machines. What the AI era really tests in children is not whether they can find an answer, but whether they can still hold on to their own independent thinking and judgment when answers are within easy reach. This survey shows us that AI is already part of everyday life for everyone—no longer merely a learning tool, it is changing how children acquire knowledge, handle their emotions and understand the world. Lite-On has long invested in education, and through the CommonWealth Education Innovation Hub, the Lite-On Cultural Foundation supports the promotion of AI literacy education precisely because, in an age where information is everywhere, children can get answers quickly but often, without realizing it, outsource their thinking and offload their cognition. We hope to remind children and nurture in them a spirit of curious inquiry, the ability to think critically, and responsibility for their own choices—and to accompany the next generation in building the confidence to face the future amid rapid technological change, so that in the clamor and dazzle of information, children can see the way ahead and find themselves."
Chun-Lang Hsu, Executive Director of the TSMC Education and Culture Foundation, attended MIT RAISE's Day of AI international conference in person last year and studied the promotion strategies and contexts of various countries in depth, and said: "Amid the great wave of technological change, basic education around the world is facing a critical test. To cultivate future talent capable of harnessing technological tools, the TSMC Education and Culture Foundation is actively taking part in the AI Literacy for All initiative—not only empowering primary and middle school teachers and building students' AI literacy, but also bringing female high school students into dialogue with women engineers at TSMC, focusing on AI applications in industry and daily life, to spark young women's interest in STEM."
Grace Liu, Chief Sustainability Officer of Acer, also noted: "Acer believes that cultivating AI literacy is not just about teaching children to use technology, but about building their ability to understand technology, use it well and create positive impact. We have long invested in digital literacy education along three dimensions—Technology, Inclusion and Creativity—using technology to make learning in education settings more interactive and self-directed, promoting the availability and accessibility of digital tools, and supporting innovation ecosystems that use technology to respond to social and environmental challenges. Going forward, Acer will continue to work with education partners to accompany teachers, parents and students into the AI era, making technology a force for educational equity and sustainable value."
FNF's Global Innovation Hub for Education has also committed to advancing AI literacy education, with this call: "We hope the next generation will use AI as a tool to sharpen their thinking rather than let AI take the place of thinking; and will use AI to realize their own ideas in daily life rather than accept whatever AI produces at face value."
In response to teachers' wish to "see how an AI literacy lesson is actually taught," the Hub also organized an "AI Literacy Back-to-School Day" as part of the event, breaking away from one-way advocacy and letting parents, teachers and students step into a real AI literacy classroom. Tai-Pin She, Deputy Convener of the Technology Division of the Ministry of Education's Central Advisory Group, led children through lessons on understanding AI, machine learning and algorithms, and used games and Q&A to get students thinking deeply about what AI can and cannot do—ultimately guiding them toward solutions for human–AI collaboration in the AI era.
▶ Full demo lesson video: How Does AI Learn? An open AI literacy demonstration lesson by Tai-Pin She (approx. 50 min)
As of the end of July 2026, the AI Literacy for All initiative, driven jointly by the AI Literacy Education Alliance, had reached a cumulative 1,466 schools and 2,184 teachers across Taiwan, potentially benefiting more than 150,000 students (including 22,000 students in rural and remote areas).
Members of the AI Literacy Education Alliance include the co-founding organizations—the CommonWealth Education Innovation Hub, MIT RAISE, i2Learning and Day of AI; the funding partners—the TSMC Education and Culture Foundation, the Lite-On Cultural Foundation, the Acer Foundation and FNF's Global Innovation Hub for Education; and partners advancing AI literacy education in their respective fields—the Chengzhi Education Foundation, Teach For Taiwan (TFT), National Kaohsiung Normal University, Professor Kuen-Yi Lin (Vice Provost and Distinguished Professor of Technology Application and Human Resource Development, National Taiwan Normal University), the Taipei Computer Association, and the New Taipei City Government.
(With thanks to contract researcher Yu-Wen Shih for her assistance with the research and analysis of this survey report.)
Media Contact
CommonWealth Education Innovation Hub
Sharon Hsu｜(02) 7709-9050 ext. 665｜sharonhsu@cw.com.tw