EPALE - Electronic Platform for Adult Learning in Europe

On behalf of my colleagues and invited experts, I would like to say thank you for your participation and contributions. Although, moderation finished, the continuation of the discussion is more than welcome. 

Thank you very much for this interesting and inspiring discussion. It has shown that AI can be very helpful in basic education and opens up new opportunities for us if we use it responsibly (ethical aspects, bias, etc.). 

AI literacy opens up opportunities for learners (not only) in basic education. It also opens up opportunities for trainers/teachers. However, in order to take advantage of these opportunities, adult educators need to be qualified. Of course, this cannot just be tool training; critical aspects, especially in educational contexts, should also be addressed. I believe that practical examples and the exchange of experiences regarding the use of AI in the classroom are also important in AI learning programmes for trainers/teachers. I miss such exchange formats to some extent. 

Hello everyone,

I’d like to raise a slightly skeptical question about the use of AI in general (not only in adult education). While AI tools can be incredibly powerful for generating content, explanations, or even personalized learning paths, I sometimes worry about the limits of relying on them.

One issue I see is that people often take AI-generated answers as if they were unquestionably true, without checking the accuracy of the information. That seems risky. If learners or even trainers don’t verify the content, aren’t we just introducing another layer of misinformation—only this time with the authority of “AI” behind it?

So my question is: how do we make sure that AI is used responsibly, and not as a shortcut that discourages critical thinking or fact-checking?

This is a very timely and important discussion. AI has great potential to support adult learners in developing literacy, numeracy and digital skills, but we must also carefully consider inclusiveness, accessibility and the role of educators. I look forward to hearing practical examples and sharing experiences on how AI can empower learners while ensuring that human guidance remains central.

Hi everyone, this is such a broad and fast changing topic that I am afraid the AI based learning is changing faster than we as a society can adapt to it. We will have to use AI to adapt to AI, soon.

Some practical inspiration. Try this AI based Czech tool. It is able to to simulate role plays so that you can bring a coach to your meeting and the AI coach will prepare you for the meeting and will give you feedback after it: https://www.skilldriver.cz/

The dynamics of the development is tremendous...

Dear Colleagues,

As the Secretary General of the European Basic Skills Network (EBSN), I am pleased to join this important EPALE discussion facilitated by our EPALE Editor-in-Chief, Tamás Harangozó.

Artificial intelligence is transforming how we teach and learn, and the environment where adults with low basic skills navigate everyday life. From personalised learning pathways to real-time translation and digital assistants, AI offers new ways to support learners in overcoming barriers, but at the same time, it generates new challenges and risks—such as misinformation, digital surveillance, and algorithmic bias—which adults with low basic skills are more likely to be exposed to and less equipped to critically assess or respond to.

At EBSN, we are particularly interested in practical use cases where AI is helping adults with low basic skills to participate more effectively in learning and manage daily challenges. We warmly invite you to share examples of how AI is being used to support adults with low literacy, numeracy, or digital skills. Please, send us information on how teachers and trainers are integrating AI tools (e.g., chatbots, language models, adaptive platforms) in basic skills programmes. We want to offer opportunities to present project outcomes or research results that explore the role of AI in adult learning and discuss ethical and critical aspects, such as digital accessibility, algorithmic bias, or learners’ digital agency.

EBSN strongly supports the ethical, inclusive and pedagogically sound use of AI. We advocate for empowering adult educators to use technology not only to increase engagement and learning efficiency but also to foster critical digital literacy, including awareness of data privacy and the social implications of AI.

We plan to make this topic a strategic focus in the coming years, including during our Annual Conference in June 2026. We aim to deepen our collective understanding and stimulate innovation around AI and basic skills.

We encourage programme designers, adult learning providers, researchers, and policymakers to share initiatives, development programmes, and pilot projects—as well as insights on what works, what doesn’t, and what still needs to be explored. We are also open to collaborations in development projects, awareness raising, and professional development of adult learning staff.

Let’s work together to ensure AI becomes a force for equity and empowerment in adult learning.

Warm regards,
Zoltán Várkonyi
secretary.general@basicskills.eu
The European Basic Skills Network www.basicskills.eu

I think artificial intelligence is a good trainer for developing critical thinking skills. If a teacher offers AI-generated learning texts, the adult learner should be able to determine to what extent they can be relied on.

As I promised in the videostream, please find some links to the iRead4Skills project below:

• project website
• project outcomes
• project partners

We are really looking forward to the reading tool coming up this Autumn! More will be shared on EPALE! 

For those already experimenting with AI in their teaching: what’s the smallest step you’ve taken that had a big impact on how learners build their confidence with digital skills? For example, I encouraged learners to ask an AI to turn a boring text into a poem or a short story. The fun element helped break the fear of “serious technology” and opened the door to deeper exploration.

Dear Participants,

This is Tamás from EBSN. Thank you for joining our videostream! It is a pleasure to see so many comments already. I am really looking forward to reading about your experiences. Just as a reminder, the moderation will last until 16:00 today. You are more than welcome to reflect on any parts of the online stream or aspects of AI and adult learning, but we would love to learn from 

• your experiences with adopting AI tools in teaching and
• any success stories or key projects in this field!

Enjoy the discussion!

Hello to all colleagues,

I offer a link to the Bulgarian experience in the field of artificial intelligence:

INSAIT | Institute for Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence and Technology. 

The connection between artificial intelligence and basic adult skills remains a challenge. I hope this online discussion will help me discover good practices for discovering such a connection.

Zhuliyan Gochev - NSS Bulgaria and EBSN in Bulgaria

Welcome everyone! 

We are about to go live with the video streaming with experts.

Feel free to post your comments and questions!

Gianluca - EPALE Central Support Service

MI gan palīdz, gan apdraud vienlaicīgi.  Bet tikai pašā MI lietotāja rokās un ziņā ir izdarīt pareizās izvēles cik daudz tiek ļauta šiem rīkiem piekļuve personīgajai lietotāja informācijai, kuras ieguve var lietotājam kaitēt. Jebkurā izglītības procesa posmā ir svarīgi lai izglītotājs un tas kurš no viņa mācās apzinās šo risku un prot to mazināt vai nepieļaut tā iestāšanos.  Atbildība ir visam atslēgas vārds!

The question that worries me the most is how to recognize and identify human-generated text from artificial intelligence text? Will human abilities and skills become less valuable over time?

One point I’d like to bring into the discussion is how AI reshapes the definition of digital literacy as a basic skill. In my view, the ability to work with AI should become an integral part of this competence. This raises the question: if people develop digital literacy without engaging with AI, are they still missing essential skills that are increasingly required?

We are looking forward to this important discussion! 

This topic is particularly relevant both from the perspective of acquiring basic skills in the digital era and from the perspective of artificial intelligence, which is constantly being developed and improved.

Even specialists working in the field of artificial intelligence admit that it is not easy to keep up with the latest developments.