What should I know before teaching kids about Artificial Intelligence?
Every month in 2020 we’ll have a brand new theme that we’ll share across our platforms. There’ll be social media chats, blog articles and learning resources across all our channels. Stay tuned to our blog for updates on topics and discussions.
Happy 2020! To jump start our brand new themed months, January is focused on Artificial Intelligence!
Artificial Intelligence has long been a staple of fantasy and science-fiction (remember David, the child-like robot in the film AI or the characters of Westworld or Black Mirror).
But AI is no longer just a device of science-fiction, but something that we see and use every day!
So, what is AI?
AI is machine intelligence or the capability for machines to work and react like humans.
AI can be seen everywhere, not just in science-fiction. Siri is AI, so is Alexa, and those suggestions in your gmail account for what to type, that’s AI too.
But it’s only the beginning, there are many potential uses for AI in the future too.
How does AI work?
To put it very simply, a machine uses a data set to predict outcomes and categorise things. So, if a computer knows that those two flowers are pink it’s more likely to know if that third flower is also pink or not.
(A great example of the power of AI to define flower colours is Anna Ridler’s art project on the topic here)
What is AI bias?
One of the problems with AI is that the systems are only as good as the data we put into them. And if we use bad data that contains unconscious racial, gender or ideological bias, then the decisions that are made using these AI data sets also has these biases.
This is a problem when we trust AI implicitly. Just like when we trust fake news implicitly!
(For more info on AI bias, check out this IBM research in bias in AI, or this Wired article on AI and racial profiling, or this interview with Emily Rich from Microsoft)
How can I teach safe AI to kids?
Just like with coding, it’s beneficial to have a base understanding of what AI is, and what the potential problems may be, with the hope that we can all avoid potential future pitfalls and recognise them around us.
Just like with coding, we make sure kids understand how AI works, and how it affects them, so they can work with it in the future.
If your club uses Scratch, these resources are a great place to start!
There are some other cool resources below, and we’ll also talk about teaching AI to kids in our next blog post!
Happy coding!
Code Club Aus HQ
Keen to get the kids in your community engaged in digital learning -volunteer with Code Club today! Head to codeclubau.org to find out more info!
Some other cool resources:
Check out the Unconscious bias training available here
Catch out fake news with your class or club with these ABC Education lessons
Create your own dataset and use AI to clean the ocean with this code.org lesson
Check out the Microsoft AI for Good project, and get your school involved!
The Digital Technologies Hub also has a bunch of AI lesson for you here
This article from Sherol Chen on explain AI to Kids is AWESOME
Want to deep dive into Human Rights and AI? The Human Rights Commission just released this White Paper on Human Rights and Technology
