Asia Is More Open to AI in Schools Than Much of the World
The Ipsos Education Monitor 2026 suggests people across the Asian markets it examined are more open to AI in schools than the global picture, even while support for restricting children’s social media use remains high.
Across Indonesia, India, Thailand, Singapore, Japan, Malaysia and South Korea, support for banning AI in schools ranges from 23% to 31%, below the 39% global average. Thailand sits at 25%, Singapore at 28%, and Malaysia and Japan at 29%. Australia and New Zealand are notable exceptions in the Asia-Pacific sample, at 52% and 47% respectively.
The contrast with social media is striking. Globally, 73% support banning children under 14 from social media. Ipsos says the findings suggest people are distinguishing between technologies they perceive as potentially harmful and those they see as having a role in learning and opportunity.
The pattern is not uniform across the region, and public attitudes are still moving. Singapore saw support for an AI ban fall from 37% to 28% year-on-year, while Japan and South Korea moved in the opposite direction. For schools, the data suggests the debate is increasingly about how AI should be used, governed and evaluated rather than a simple regional yes-or-no position.
Comments