We have gone from looking at artificial intelligence with curiosity to having it closer and closer. Many use it to summarize texts, organize ideas, study, or solve small work tasks. The feeling is clear: these services are beginning to form part of our digital life. But there is a very specific border that changes the conversation. It is one thing to try a free tool, with its limits, and quite another to pay every month for a more advanced version that unlocks greater benefits.
That’s where Malta comes in, which recently announced an alliance with OpenAI that the company presents as the first of its kind in the world. The measure will allow access to ChatGPT Plus for one year and at no direct cost. Times of Malta adds an important piece: the agreement also includes Microsoft, so participants will be able to opt for ChatGPT Plus or Microsoft 365 Personal Copilot. The condition, in any case, is not minor: you must first complete basic training on how to use these tools.
The program is structured around “AI for Everyone”, a national online course developed by the University of Malta and designed to explain what AI is, what it can do, what limits it has and how to use it responsibly at home and at work. The Maltese Government speaks of a training of approximately two hours. OpenAI explains that the first phase is planned for May and that the Malta Digital Innovation Authority will be responsible for managing the distribution among eligible participants. The initiative will grow as more Malta residents and Maltese citizens abroad complete the course.
An initiative that goes beyond free ChatGPT Plus
For OpenAI, the deal fits within a broader strategy. The artificial intelligence company places it under OpenAI for Countries, its initiative to work with governments and institutions that want to move from initial interest in AI to national adoption programs. The idea is not to apply the same model everywhere, but to adapt it to local priorities such as education, public services, support for startups or digital literacy. Microsoft appears in the equation in another way: its collaboration with the country comes from a previous agreement to introduce Copilot in the public administration. What has not been made public, however, are the financial details of the new agreement.
Malta tries to present the initiative as something more ambitious than a technological promotion. The Government maintains that the main objective is to give the population a broad understanding of AI so that they can use it safely, responsibly and with confidence. This formulation is important, because it shifts the focus from the tool to the competition. Silvio Schembri, Minister of Economy, summed it up by presenting it as a way of turning a still unfamiliar concept into a practical help for families, students and workers. It’s not just about trying out advanced services, but about learning how to incorporate them into real tasks.
The context helps to understand why Malta can propose an initiative of this type. According to the European Commission, the country obtains very good results in the adoption of AI and business digitalization, and stands out especially in the digitalization of public services. In addition, it has already reached 100% coverage in very high capacity networks and 100% basic 5G coverage, in line with the objectives of the Digital Decade. That is to say, Malta is not starting from scratch: it has a solid technological base on which to try to bring AI to more citizens.
Valletta, capital of Malta
The other reading is less colorful, but necessary. The fact that Malta is well placed in digitalization does not mean that the adoption of AI will be automatic or homogeneous. Brussels is located in 63% population proportion with at least basic digital skills, although it also points out differences associated with educational level. This nuance explains part of the meaning of the program: if AI begins to become a common tool, the problem will not only be who can access it, but who knows how to truly take advantage of it.
Deep down, Malta is rehearsing an answer to a question that many countries will soon have to ask themselves: what does it mean to prepare the population for an economy where AI is beginning to creep into very everyday tasks. OpenAI speaks of intelligence as a national utility, an ambitious but useful expression for understanding the movement. The point is not that everyone uses the same tool, but that more people have a minimum basis for deciding when to use it, when to distrust it, and how to turn it into real help.
We will have to see how far a training of about two hours can go. Malta is a small country and that makes it a manageable experimentbut the important questions remain for later: how many people will take the course, how many will activate the tool afterwards, and how many will actually incorporate it into their daily lives. The answer will only come with time. Even so, access to advanced tools being accompanied by minimal AI literacy does not seem like a bad starting point.
Images | Government of Malta | Tchoutcho Dantine by Thier | Solen Feyissa
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