TechBytes

January is AI month at Common Sense Education!

The topic of artificial intelligence is both wide-ranging and constantly evolving. It's nearly impossible to keep up with it all ourselves, much less inform kids about every new nuance and feature. How can we stay on top of the implications of AI in education and help kids navigate this brave new world?

Aside from evaluating individual products and learning about specific features, one way to approach this moving target of a topic is to take the broader approach of AI literacy. By addressing general principles, concerns, and dilemmas that come with AI, we can open up important discussions that will be relevant even as AI capabilities continue to evolve.

The Common Sense Education AI Literacy lesson collection aims to do just that: We want to help students understand how AI works, its potential benefits and risks, the ethical implications, how it impacts their well-being, and the ways it affects being a good digital citizen. Plus, the lessons are all 20 minutes or less!

Our lessons are designed for grades 6–12, but many could be adapted for younger students. Here's an overview of the material

• What Is AI? – Use this short lesson to help students understand how AI works and consider some of its potential benefits and drawbacks.
• How Is AI Trained? – Explain how artificial intelligence is often trained on data that we share online, and get students thinking critically about what they share and how they interact with AI tools.
• AI Chatbots: Who's Behind the Screen? – Explore why chatbots are designed to seem human, and help students think carefully about why this could be both helpful and harmful.
• AI Chatbots & Friendship – Because conversations with chatbots can seem very real, encourage your students to reflect on what makes human friendships special and unique.
• Understanding AI Bias – Help your students think critically about the training data that informs what AI tools can do, and consider possible ways to reduce AI bias.
• How AI Bias Impacts Our Lives – Because AI tools can make mistakes, discuss the bias embedded in AI tools and how it impacts our understanding of the world.
• AI Algorithms: How Well Do They Know You? – Help students explore how algorithms can be helpful, but can also create filter bubbles, perpetuate bias, and undermine our autonomy.
• Facing Off with Facial Recognition – Use the dilemma in this lesson to help students think critically and consider some potential benefits and drawbacks of facial recognition tech.