India, Oct. 7 -- Ask a ten-year-old for the capital of Peru, and they'll ask a voice assistant. Stuck on a fraction? A chatbot solves it. Their next video, game and song are all picked by an algorithm they've never heard of.

Now ask them how the AI decided. Most children can't tell you. That isn't because they aren't bright. Nobody has taught them.

That is the gap. Children are using AI long before they understand it, and a tool you don't understand is a tool you can't question.

AI is moving from the phone into the classroom. From the 2026-27 session, CBSE has introduced a Computational Thinking and AI curriculum for Classes 3 to 8. From 2027-28, AI becomes a compulsory subject from Class 9, with the first board exams in 2029. The mess...