Artificial Intelligence in Danish schools: New rules against cheating

Writing written school assignments with the help of artificial intelligence (AI) has now become part of everyday life for upper‑class student Vigga Holm‑Petersen. The 19‑year‑old attends a gymnasium in Copenhagen. She now also notices the negative consequences for herself and others. Sometimes the critical review is missing: “Things are simply taken over by the AI, and that can of course also be dangerous.”

Denmark is particularly strongly affected by this development. The country has been regarded for years as a pioneer in the digitalisation of schools. Tablets and laptops are part of normal teaching, and exams are also partly written digitally. In some schools, books have almost completely disappeared from the classroom.

AI therefore encounters a school system in Denmark that is already heavily digitalised. However, the government does not want to ban the technology from classrooms again, but to control its use more strictly, explains Minister of Education Magnus Heunicke on Danish radio: “Unfortunately, some students are abusing AI to cheat. We have therefore introduced a few immediate measures and are consulting with schools on how to proceed.”

Term papers must be defended orally.

Secondary schools should use monitoring software during exams and block access to AI services. Tasks should also be carried out more often directly in school. And a larger final term paper at the end of the school year must also be defended orally. This should make it apparent if someone submits a paper but cannot explain its content themselves.

For Copenhagen teacher Cecilie Linnegaard, however, the goal is not to keep AI completely out of school. On the contrary: “By monitoring we are able to work with AI in school without cheating. This allows us to check what students have understood in tests, and still incorporate modern technologies into the classroom.”

How can AI work in schools?

The new rules are therefore primarily a brake. Denmark wants to find out how school can work with AI without ending up with the machine doing all the tasks.

AI will therefore not disappear entirely from Danish schools. The new message is rather: students may use technology. In the end, however, the young people should show what they can do themselves.