This coming week, 24 to 31 October, is Global Media and Information Literacy Week. It raises awareness about achieving media and information literacy for everyone. AI-powered digital platforms and tools have transformed how we access and generate information, opening new possibilities for communication, education, and multimedia content creation. But they also make misinformation and disinformation easier to spread and harder to detect. As media and AI literacy become crucial skills in today's world, are European citizens equipped to navigate this evolving information landscape?

Artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionising not only how information is generated but also how it is delivered. With generative AI, highly realistic text, images, audio, and video can be created in seconds, enabling more sophisticated misleading content and disinformation, such as deepfakes that are often hard to detect. Algorithms also play a significant role in determining how much of this content appears on social media, search engines, and other online platforms.

As AI becomes more integrated into our information landscape, we must not only assess content authenticity but also verify sources, context, intent, and reach. According to the first draft of the PISA 2029 Media and Artificial Intelligence Literacy (MAIL) Assessment Framework (a new evaluation framework developed by the OECD to measure how well 15-year-old students globally navigate digital media and artificial intelligence), these competencies are essential today to evaluate the credibility, quality, and purpose of media messages, and ultimately make informed and responsible decisions as active members of society.

Dr Theresa Seipp, Postdoctoral Researcher at the AI, Media & Democracy Lab and the Institute for Information Law at the University of Amsterdam: “Recently, I've noticed many people using AI tools that let them upload a photo of themselves and see it transformed to look like they did in the 80s or in other styles. It's important to understand that these tools aren't just for fun; using them implies sharing personal data. People should be aware that everything they input into a large language model (LLM), for example, becomes part of its training data. Therefore, it's crucial to consider what kind of AI chatbots you're using and where you're uploading your data. I think that's also part of AI literacy, which many people still lack.” - Read the full interview with Theresa Seipp

What does it mean to be media- and AI-literate nowadays?

The PISA framework defines media literacy as the capacity to access, understand, analyse, and create media, while also considering its broader societal impacts. AI literacy involves the technical knowledge and skills needed to use AI systems effectively, along with the ability to critically evaluate their benefits, risks, and ethical implications. However, in today's world, the two concepts are increasingly interconnected.

Media literacy without AI literacy can overlook how AI systems curate, generate, and amplify content, shaping what people see and perceive as reality. However, AI literacy must also incorporate a broader social, cultural, and ethical understanding. Knowing how AI works is not enough; people also need the skills to critically evaluate the narratives, biases, and representations it creates, and to understand their impact on public perception.

Prof. Dr Samuel Greiff, Professor of Educational Monitoring & Effectiveness at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), leading the Centre for International Student Assessment (ZIB) and overseeing the national implementation of the PISA study in Germany: "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.” - Read the full interview with Samuel Greiff

According to him, the most recent PISA results indicate that an increasing number of students across many European countries, including Germany, are experiencing declines in core skills such as mathematics, reading, and science; skills that are essential for everyday life. Without these basic skills, using AI effectively becomes harder, as AI literacy goes beyond operating a computer or writing prompts. It involves understanding, critically assessing, and appropriately making use of AI outputs.

How should media and AI literacy be taught?

Both students and teachers are expected to develop stronger digital and AI skills, but access to training and technology varies across Europe. A recent Eurydice report indicates that digital skills are increasingly included in education and teacher training. Nonetheless, teachers need further support to help students critically assess online information and use AI ethically and safely. Many develop these skills through ongoing professional development rather than initial training, but limited time and resources can make it hard to stay current with new technologies and incorporate them into teaching.

“We live in a time when technological advances happen rapidly, and educational systems, which are typically slow to adapt, struggle to keep pace,” mentions Prof. Dr Greiff. "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.”

He adds, “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.”

But media and AI literacy should not be seen as an issue that concerns only teachers and students. As Prof. Dr Greiff points out, it is equally important to reach adults outside formal education and to provide them with the skills and training they need throughout their lives –an issue that received relatively little attention so far.

In fact, everyone is affected by the potential challenges posed by AI and online disinformation. Dr Seipp notes that “Age does not inherently make people more or less vulnerable to AI. For example, younger people tend to understand social media, algorithms, and related areas better. Older individuals generally have less awareness of these aspects. However, younger people mostly consume news via social media, which exposes them to highly personalised content. Therefore, every age group faces distinct challenges with disinformation and AI, making it important to address these issues across all demographics.”

Is media literacy enough to fight disinformation?

While individuals have a societal responsibility to think critically about what they read and share online, as Dr Seipp explains, it's obviously unrealistic to expect them to authenticate everything they see. We encounter so much information every day, that a governance system involving different actors is necessary. Regulators have a responsibility to facilitate better AI media literacy and to avoid giving AI platforms too much control over content, including labelling and removing disinformation:

“We all know that not all these platforms are owned by entities that have democratic values at their core and may have questionable ties to political interests and aren't truly neutral; they don't remove content impartially. So, you wouldn't want to give them too much political influence or control over what content we see, and they shouldn't be the ultimate arbiters of truth”. This is why, she emphasises, that the EU must properly enforce key regulations such as the EU Digital Markets Act (DMA) to address the concentration of power among AI platforms.

Prof. Dr Greiff likens the challenge of media literacy and digitalisation in Germany to road signs and street safety: “Road signs are necessary to regulate traffic, but it's equally important to know how to cross roads safely. Therefore, both approaches are essential. We need strong legal frameworks, and we need to make sure that everyone, children and adolescents, can cross streets safely.”. Likewise, robust regulations are only part of the solution: people also need the practical know‑how to navigate the digital information landscape. Policy and education must therefore go hand in hand to ensure that everyone can engage with media critically, recognise misinformation and make informed choices.

Related content:

• An expert's opinion: Interview with Theresa Seipp on new challenges in media and information literacy
• An expert's opinion: Interview with Samuel Greiff on new challenges in media and information literacy