Anthropic and Iceland's Ministry of Education and Children announce a partnership to put Claude at teachers' service across the country. It's one of the first comprehensive national AI pilots applied to education in the world: from Reykjavík to the most remote communities, hundreds of teachers will get access to tools, training and support to experiment with how AI can ease their work and improve learning.
What this pilot means
The project will deliver Claude to teachers in all regions of Iceland, along with educational resources, training materials and a dedicated support network. What's the idea? That teachers spend less time on administrative tasks and more time designing classes and supporting their students.
'We're proud to partner with the Ministry... to help teachers save time and create better learning experiences,' said Thiyagu Ramasamy, head of public sector at Anthropic.
The pilot will explore practical uses: from lesson preparation and adapting materials for different levels, to help solving tricky problems in texts or maths. The system's ability to recognize Icelandic and other languages is also highlighted, which makes it easier to integrate into multilingual classrooms.
How it can help teachers (and what it won't do for them)
In practice, teachers will be able to use Claude to generate personalized plans, convert content to accessible formats, create differentiated exercises and get timely support to resolve curricular doubts. Think of a tool that helps you kick off an activity, polish it and adapt it for students with different needs.
However, AI doesn't replace pedagogy or the teacher-student relationship. It isn't a substitute for your professional judgment: it's a toolbox that, used well, can free up time and strengthen teaching.
Challenges and precautions that accompany the pilot
Not everything is optimism. Any AI deployment in education must consider privacy, data security and the risk of biases in responses. Iceland and Anthropic say the project includes training and safeguards to prevent harm and protect local values.
There's also an explicit bet on preserving the Icelandic language. Why does this matter? Because educational technology must respect and reinforce local languages and cultures, not homogenize them.
A move within a larger wave in Europe
This pilot doesn't appear in a vacuum. Anthropic already works with European institutions: the European Parliament Archives uses Claude to make millions of documents accessible, cutting search times; the London School of Economics gave students access to practice critical thinking; and there are memoranda with the UK to explore AI in public services.
Iceland adds a teacher-centered model others can watch: national distribution, training and continuous support to ensure technology serves the educational community, not the other way around.
Looking ahead
This project is, above all, a national-scale experiment. We're interested in seeing what works in real classrooms: what time savings are achieved, how the quality of materials changes and what impact it has on school inclusion. Could Iceland become a reference for other countries that want to integrate AI into education responsibly? It's a real possibility.
For curious teachers: it's an invitation to try, give feedback and guide the implementation. For administrators and technologists: a reminder that technology has to be designed around human needs, not the other way around.
