Page 153 - Izobraževanje v dobi generativne umetne inteligence

Generative AI and the Croatian

Educational System

Saša Mladenović
University of Split
smladen@pmfst.hr

This chapter explores the transformative potential of Generative AI (GEN-AI) in
education, focusing on its integration into the Croatian educational system. It
examines the historical evolution of AI, the rapid emergence of GEN-AI tools,
and their implications for teaching and learning. GEN-AI’s multimodal capabil-
ities offer opportunities to enhance creativity, problem-solving, and person-
alised learning. However, challenges such as overreliance, transparency, and
ethical considerations require special attention. Croatia has made significant
efforts in addressing these challenges through initiatives like the BrAIn pro-
ject, CARNET’s AI curriculum, and the Digital Croatia Strategy 2032, which em-
phasise AI literacy, teacher empowerment, and equitable access. Pedagogical
approaches for teaching with and about GEN-AI are discussed, emphasising
active learning, ethical awareness, and the importance of maintaining human
oversight. This chapter advocates for a balanced, human-centric approach to
integrating GEN-AI, ensuring its use aligns with educational values of creativity
and intellectual growth while addressing the evolving demands of a digital
future.
Keywords: Croatian education, AI in education, AI curriculum, AI ethics, digital
transformation, AI literacy
© 2025 Saša Mladenović
https://doi.org/10.26493/978-961-293-431-6.6

Introduction
AI traces its origins to the mid-20th century when researchers began explo-
ring the possibility of creating machines capable of performing tasks tradi-
tionally associated with human intelligence (Rojas, 2024). Alan Turing, one
of the most influential pioneers in AI (Teuscher, 2004), posed the question
of whether machines could think and introduced the famous Turing Test as
a way to evaluate whether a machine could demonstrate behaviour indis-
tinguishable from that of a human. Turing suggested that a computer could
be considered intelligent if it could mimic human responses under specific
conditions, laying the foundation for the idea of machines »thinking« like hu-
mans and igniting decades of research and discussions in the field (French,
2000). In 1956, John McCarthy formally coined the term »Artificial Intelligen-

Flogie, A., in Čotar Konrad, S. (ur.). 2025. Izobraževanje v dobi generativne umetne
inteligence: mednarodne smernice in raziskave. Založba Univerze na Primorskem.