Overview: How "intelligent" is AI actually? Guess My Passcode is a social, story-based game that aims to demystify technologies that are commonly referred to as "artificial intelligence" (such as ChatGPT, facial recognition, or TikTok's algorithm). This lesson is tested for grades 6 and above and is aligned to Common Core Math Standards in Grades 4 to 6.
Activity Links and Teaching Resources:
| Summary | Guess My Passcode is a social math game tested for grades 6 and above that demystifies what is commonly referred to as "artificial intelligence". Students are primed to understand how AI models "learn" by exploring a game where they attempt to guess the passcode to their teacher's special phone. In the process, they learn the intuition behind backpropagation - a foundational algorithm in deep learning that powers models such as ChatGPT - using elementary and middle school mathematics concepts. Participants finish with a concrete understanding of how computer algorithms learn from feedback using elementary mathematics. |
| Topics | Backpropagation, Gradient Descent, Update Rule |
| Audience | K-12 (specifically tested for grades 6+), Intro to AI. This activity is aligned to Common Core Math Standards in Grades 4 to 6 (see lesson plan). |
| Difficulty | This activity uses a low-floor, high-ceiling approach to challenge learners ranging from middle school to the undergraduate level. No prior programming experience is required, although supplementary activities are included for computer science classrooms. |
| Strengths | Using inclusive and accessible language, this activity introduces K-12 students to a foundational topic in learning theory that is generally only covered at the undergraduate or graduate level. The core game is structured so that the students only need to use multi-step arithmetic operations to play. Challenge activities are provided so that students can engage with AI in culturally relevant ways based on varying early career interests ("data scientist", "entrepreneur", "mathematician", "teacher", etc). The lesson is also grounded in a variety of student-relevant real-world applications of AI, ranging from social media and ChatGPT to sports. |
| Weaknesses | Although the game is not complicated, like any game it does take some upfront time to learn which may make it difficult to fit into class periods shorter than 50 minutes. We are working on building a short tutorial that saves time by "stepping through" the first round using a chat-based interface. Also, being a math game, it may engage some students more than others based on prior interest in gaming and/or math. To address this, we provide additional challenges to engage learners across various interest backgrounds, including the humanities. |
| Dependencies | Necessary pre-requisites: grades 4 and 5 mathematics. No programming experience required for teachers or students. Access to a platform to easily run Python 3 Notebooks is required. We tested in our classrooms on Google Colaboratory's free tier (included with Drive). |
| Variants | With this foundation, instructors may choose to take the game in a number of directions, which we enumerate in the "Bonus Challenges" document, both for STEM and non-STEM classes. Computer science classrooms may choose to focus more deeply on the programming activity, and math classrooms may choose to focus on the derivation activity. We also provide follow-up problem-based activities for science, business, and social sciences / teaching classrooms interested in exploring the societal ramifications of AI. |