In the run-up to the Global Media and Information Literacy Week, taking place from 24 to 31 October 2026, we speak with Prof. Dr Samuel Greiff, Professor of Educational Monitoring & Effectiveness at the Technical University of Munich. He leads the Centre for International Student Assessment and oversees the national implementation of the PISA study (the Programme for International Student Assessment, a global evaluation coordinated by the OECD) in Germany.

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How are media literacy and AI literacy related? What has AI changed about the skills we need?

Samuel Greiff: That's a challenging question. Media literacy and AI literacy are related, but not the same. Media literacy involves understanding, using, evaluating, and creating media, while AI literacy, as the name suggests, focuses on how AI systems work and how to use them.

Both involve understanding and critically reflecting. When considering what AI has changed about the skills we need, an important and somewhat surprising point is that AI makes basic, foundational skills even more crucial; various research and policy reports indicate that using AI effectively depends on core skills such as literacy and numeracy.

Overreliance on AI may also lead us to stop thinking independently. This is called cognitive offloading or the crutch effect, where AI acts as a crutch, and once removed, we can't walk without it. This highlights the need for AI literacy, but more fundamentally, we must first learn foundational skills. Many scientists emphasise that, especially in elementary and primary education, the focus should be on strengthening these core skills separately from AI, since they are essential for effectively using AI later on.

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What does being AI literate actually mean in everyday life? What should someone be able to do?

Samuel Greiff: According to the PISA 2029 Framework, the focus isn't just on technical aspects. When you think about media literacy, you might initially assume it simply involves using and handling various digital tools. However, it encompasses much more. While accessing and using the right tools is one aspect, a key ongoing element is reflecting and acting ethically when you use them. This means continuously questioning what you're doing and what the implications of your actions might be. This is especially vital with social media and issues like fake news, where responsible action and consideration of social impact are crucial. Additionally, media and AI literacy include cognitive skills such as analysing AI-produced content and actively creating it.

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Is knowing whether something was created by AI actually important, or should we focus more on whether the information itself is trustworthy?

Samuel Greiff: I would say these are two different but related angles, both important and requiring different approaches. It is crucial to understand the origin of a message in order to know how it was produced and whether its claims are supported by facts.

At the same time, examining the entire production process, including who initiated the request, who edited or distributed the content, and the role of AI, is also relevant. We need both perspectives: assessing content regardless of origin and considering the origin itself, especially from an ethical standpoint like disclosure.

For example, a flood image generated by AI might be acceptable as a labelled illustration but not as proof of an actual flood. Ultimately, it's about understanding what AI created and whether that information is trustworthy and accurate.

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Algorithms increasingly decide what information we see. Should understanding how recommendation systems work become a basic part of media literacy?

Samuel Greiff: The first step is recognising that algorithms and personalised recommendations even exist; often, their influence is much stronger than we realise and much more present than we would think.

Many people don't know how these algorithms work or the consequences they can have. You don't need to understand the technical or algorithmic details; it's more important to grasp the basic ways these systems operate and how they shape what you see.

Marshall McLuhan once said that we don't know who discovered water, but we know it wasn't a fish - with these algorithms, this is more relevant and true than ever. Think about, for instance, politics, where algorithms can foster polarisation and misinformation. Awareness and self-reflection about the bubbles we might be trapped in, are crucial.

Additionally, greater transparency from providers about how these black-box algorithms work is essential, as they significantly impact perceptions and opinions - I am glad to see that many countries as well as the EU are establishing legal frameworks to keep providers accountable.

When discussing media and digitalisation in Germany, we often mention the analogy of road signs to regulate street safety. Road signs are necessary to regulate traffic, but it's equally important to know how to cross the road safely. Therefore, both approaches are essential. We need strong legal frameworks, and we need to make sure that everyone, children and adolescents, can cross the streets safely.

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If media and AI literacy should be lifelong skills, where should adults learn them once they are no longer in formal education?

Samuel Greiff: This is indeed a problem. But let's not be too pessimistic. On the one hand, formal education should equip all students with media and AI literacy, regardless of background, at least to a minimum level.

Social inequality and education are major issues in many countries, and the educational system often reproduces social injustice - and this pattern also holds for media and AI literacy. At the same time, this makes education the best lever for change.

In some countries, we see heated debates on who is responsible: parents or schools. But this polarisation does not solve the issue. Parents are crucial, of course and in an ideal world they support their children with media and AI. But if parents themselves lack the ability or capacity, schools are the only long-term solution to reach all students, also the disadvantaged ones.

As for supporting adults, it's challenging when there's no immediate need. Local initiatives are one way to reach people in the community, but older generations need targeted offers not to fall behind, as there is often no immediate need or necessity for them to learn AI literacy.

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The new PISA framework says many teachers still do not feel prepared to teach media and AI literacy. What needs to change in schools and teacher training?

Samuel Greiff: I think that is the big challenge, in fact, a systemic challenge. People often claim education is changing rapidly, but I believe we are in a period when technological advances happen in the real world, and educational systems, which are typically slow to adapt, struggle to keep pace.

Teachers, for example, may spend over three decades in their profession, making ongoing professional development crucial. Teachers that started in school 25 years ago never received any training on how to teach media and AI-literacy. This is why continuous professional development is so important.

As seen in the PISA framework, many high-performing countries focus on providing targeted, high-quality resources for teachers to support continuous growth. Simply telling teachers to teach AI literacy clearly isn't enough; it's a complex challenge that requires attention at different levels and that also requires clear political commitment.

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What steps can individuals take when they are uncertain about the credibility of information found online?

Samuel Greiff: This is the point where critical thinking and foundational skills such as literacy and numeracy become so important. When unsure about a source's credibility, it's crucial to pause a second. Think about who wrote that post and their intention. Before you can assess credibility, you have to know it's questionable. But it takes time.

Uncertainty must be mitigated because AI can automate and scale tasks, but this also increases risks like phishing, deepfakes, fraud, and manipulation. Phishing emails are becoming increasingly sophisticated, personalising the approach based on information about a person available online and on social media, which makes source verification and careful decision-making more important than ever.

I can't emphasise enough that in an era dominated by media and AI, critical thinking and foundational skills are more crucial than ever.

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