Introducing AI

Summary	What is artificial intelligence (AI)? Where have you used it before? How do you feel about it? How does it work? In this activity students will explore questions like these through an interactive group worksheet activity. This activity is intended to serve as a very high-level introduction to AI and can be used to kick off a class, unit, or workshop with other activities involving AI. No technology is required.
Topics	sensor, dataset, data, algorithm, introduction to AI
Audience	K-12. This assignment is suitable for young learners but can also serve as an introduction for students of all ages.
Difficulty	No technical skills required, accessible for younger kids (6 and up), takes 15-20 minutes to complete.
Strengths	This assignment can spur student discussion about perceptions of AI and can aid students in recognizing AI that they have used before or might encounter in the future. It can also provide a high-level understanding of AI that can be built on in subsequent lessons. It is also "unplugged" (i.e. requires no computer), making it useful in a variety of contexts.
Weaknesses	This is a super introductory presentation of AI and nuances about AI works (and the difference between AI and algorithms) may need to be unpacked in subsequent lessons.
Dependencies	No dependencies or prerequisite knowledge required.
Variants	This activity was designed for a K-12 environment, as an introduction to a course or unit on AI. It could also be used to introduce AI to students in non-CS domains in a university setting (e.g. as an intro to AI in a film studies course). The activity can be done as a take-home or in-class worksheet activity using the provided Introducing AI Worksheet or the worksheet can be used as a teacher’s guide to lead a family or class activity. This activity could also be used to assess the level of prior knowledge students have about AI in an intro course for K-12 students.

Activity

Print off the provided Introducing AI Worksheet packet and either use it to verbally guide students through the activity or give each student group a worksheet and prompt them to work through the activity together. The second and third pages of the worksheet require the Introducing AI Card Deck, which should be printed off double-sided and cut out along the black lines (so each card has a front with an image and a back with a description). Pages 3-4 of the worksheet should be printed on legal size paper in landscape mode. Students will need a writing utensil, glue, and colored pencils/markers to complete the activity. The worksheet activity starts off by prompting students to discuss where they have seen AI before and how they feel about AI. On the second page, students are asked to look at the examples of AI in the card deck and select cards they have interacted with previously. Finally, students are walked through a high level explanation of how AI works and are asked to create their own imaginary AI using the card deck and worksheet as a guide. Cards can be edited/added to by the instructor (in Microsoft Word or Adobe InDesign) prior to the activity to fit the needs of the lesson. Blank card templates are also provided if students want to create their own cards.

Key Vocabulary

Sensor: devices that detect or measure a physical property. In the case of AI systems, the information detected by the sensor is then recorded or used by a computer to either learn or decide how to respond [1].
Dataset: “collection of curated data” [2]
Data: information used by a computer to learn or make decisions
Algorithm: “a set of instructions that turns something (an input) into another thing (an output). A sandwich-making algorithm, for example, would turn a bunch of ingredients (bread, peanut butter, and jelly) into a delicious lunch (a PB&J sandwich)” [2]

Reflection Questions

Were you surprised by any of the examples of AI?
Were there any examples of AI that you have used that were not in the card deck? If so, use the provided blank cards to add cards to the deck.
Can you identify the input, algorithm, and output for any of the cards in the AI Examples deck?
In this activity you discussed some feelings/emotions that you have towards AI. Why do you think you have those feelings? Have any prior experiences contributed to those feelings? Do you think anything might change those feelings in the future?
Where have you learned about or seen AI in the past? Do you think these were accurate portrayals of AI?
Why did you make the imaginary AI device that you did?
What are some strengths that your imaginary AI device might have? Weaknesses?

Learning Objectives

This activity aims to communicate the following learning objectives:

Learners can identify AI technologies that they have used before.
Learners can distinguish between technology that uses AI and technology that does not use AI.
Learners can identify their preconceptions and discuss their feelings about AI.
Learners can define the terms sensor, dataset, and algorithm and recognize several examples of each.
Learners can explain that AI takes an input, processes that input using an algorithm, and produces an output.

Lessons Learned

We have not yet rigorously tested this assignment with a representative audience from multiple grade bands. However, to help instructors determine the appropriate use and context for the assignment, we can share some anecdotal observations/lessons learned from our experience using this lesson in practice. We have previously used this lesson as an introductory activity for a two-hour workshop conducted with ~6 family groups at a science and technology museum. Family groups varied in size and included parents and grandparents working with kids ranging from age 4 to 17 years old. Children ages 6 and up actively participated in the activity and discussion. Younger children (6-9) needed support from adults or older siblings to read the worksheet instructions/card descriptions but were able to actively engage in identifying AI examples they had previously interacted with, discussing their feelings about AI, and finding sensor/dataset/algorithm cards to create an imaginary AI (mostly using the pictures on the front as a guide). Older children and adults were able to participate in all aspects of the activity. The most lively discussion and engagement occurred surrounding the first two pages of the worksheet. Pages 3 and 4 mostly served to give groups a high-level idea of the different components of AI and expose them to some different types of sensors/datasets/algorithms. The sensor cards in particular were the most engaging. In our observations, most families did not really grasp specific details of the algorithm cards during the activity. Based on these observations, we would advise the following: 1) instructors conducting this assignment with younger kids (6-9) need to provide reading support; 2) the activity is particularly successful at engaging learners in discussion about their prior experiences with and impressions about AI; 3) the activity is moderately successful at communicating at a high-level how AI works and exposing learners to some examples of sensors/datasets/algorithms; 4) if instructors want learners to gain a deeper understanding of how AI works or understand the specifics of different AI algorithms, supplemental material is needed.