Puerto Rico’s Artificial Intelligence in Schools!
Puerto Rico
San Juan, Jun 2 (EFE).-
Puerto Rico’s Secretary of Academic Affairs, Beverly Morro, told EFE that artificial intelligence (AI) is being introduced in educational institutions with a focus on “human beings,” while placing special emphasis on ethics and student safety.
“For younger students, we use learning accelerators, while for older students we employ Copilot and generative AI. We are very careful about the safety of our students, so we prioritize the tools currently available through Microsoft,” Morro explained.
The Secretary of Academic Affairs recently participated in the forum “AI Revolution: An Opportunity for Businesses in Puerto Rico,” organized by GFR Media and Agencia EFE in San Juan.
Morro said that the Puerto Rico Department of Education has developed guidelines for integrating AI through ethical processes to evaluate its possibilities while maintaining a human-centered approach.
To achieve this, the department has established the so-called “Sense Model,” which helps students “from a safety perspective to choose the appropriate tool for an educational task and to use it ethically and responsibly.”
“This is only for students aged 13 and older because we want to protect cognitive development, which is closely linked to stimulation of the perceptual system,” she said.
In this context, Morro noted that generative AI has also been introduced on the administrative side as a support tool for teachers, helping them plan activities, while providing access to specialized tools for robotics programming and related disciplines.
The department has also implemented an invoice-processing system, a chatbot for frequently asked questions to improve customer service, and an AI algorithm designed to identify academic priorities for the upcoming school year.
“AI will not replace us, but people who use it will, and with that vision we have recently designed our guidelines for the use of artificial intelligence in student learning,” Morro said, adding that the framework is based on recommendations from the U.S. federal government.
“The Department continues to work strategically on these initiatives, sustaining them and gradually incorporating others that emerge, some spontaneously through the interest of our teachers, and others directed from the central offices for the entire educational system,” she said, noting that the adaptation process is disruptive for teachers, students and families alike.
Looking ahead to the next academic year, Morro said that 15 schools in Puerto Rico will integrate AI into their curricula, combining it with esports, programming, robotics and CertiPort certification programs.
“We must not turn our backs on it. It will be necessary for these generations to master these tools and use them to enter the workforce, but undoubtedly with great responsibility and a strong ethical sense,” she concluded.
The partnership between Agencia EFE and GFR Media to organize forums addressing key issues for Puerto Rico and the broader Hispanic world began in 2025 with the events “Educational Tourism: Puerto Rico as an Academic Destination” and “Puerto Rico as a Global Hub for Music and Entertainment.” EFE
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