Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a timely topic and is currently a key priority for Europe. As indicated in the recently published “White Paper on Artificial Intelligence: A European approach to excellence and trust” given the global competition, a solid European approach is needed, which will build on the European strategy for AI presented in April 2018. For Europe to address the opportunities and challenges of AI, the EU must act as one and define its own way, based on European values, to promote the development and deployment of AI. As AI and related technologies expand and grow, it becomes crucial for parents, educators, and policy makers to better understand, monitor, and regulate its uses and how it can impact children’s basic human rights, such as access to educational opportunities. The potential impact of artificial intelligence on children needs to be addressed, since children are the first Generation AI, who through-out their lifespan AI will play various roles to their development. There are several examples of AI tools and applications, with which children are surrounded with, including the learning algorithms powering YouTube Kids' content, Amazon’s Alexa, the smart toys which listen and keep track children’s interactions, and other educational robots. By teaching children the basics of AI technology, their workings and limitations, is one of the best ways to supporting children develop the skills and knowledge needed to protect themselves from excessive use and possible abuse. This is important because although the benefits of AI and the potential for strong education value on one hand, it also possesses strong limitations on the other by placing children under scrutiny and strict monitoring, and often times without them knowing it. AI is embedded in several applications and tools we interact daily. These include the use of YouTube, Social Media, and search engines. The frequent discussions around the automation of professions, and the future of work, raise several concerns about employment, safety, privacy, and human rights. It is important to understand that AI, when designed properly and with ethics in mind, they are designed to make our lives easier and better. In education, they can make a substantial contribution (AI book and ways is used). When designed poorly, AI tools can be frustrating (e.g. trying to give instructions to a speech recognition robot, which refuses to “understand”) and even harmful to interact with, primarily because ethics were not considered during the design process. Researchers at MIT run a program for children to teach them that, when we approach AI with ethics, applications are easy and safe to work with. AIM The aim of the GENERATION AI project is to support educators and young learners in developing an evidence-based understanding of the complexities and basic principles of AI, computational thinking, and how they can be integrated in teaching learning to promote creative problem solving, resilience, and design thinking. A secondary goal of the project is to support teachers and learners to become more critical consumers of technology applications across their life span. GENERATION AI OBJECTIVES 1. Support educators in understanding AI uses in everyday life 2. Prepare educators to teach their students about AI, its applications, strengths, and weaknesses, in line with DigiComp and DigiEDU 3. Support teachers and students in developing problem solving skills, computational thinking and design thinking involving AI tools and methods 4. Support teachers and students in developing their digital skills and develop a critical understanding of AI and its application to everyday life OUTPUTS IO1. GENERATION AI Toolkit for teachers IO2. Professional Development Training for Teachers on AI-STEM education IO3. GENERATION AI School Programme for Primary Education Students IO4. Online Learning Platform and OER’ on AI-STEM education A total of 6 partners from 5 countries (Netherlands, Spain, Greece, Cyprus, Ireland) came together to design and implement this project. More than 1000 teachers and 2000 students will be reached by the project activities. Upon completion of the project, the following results will be achieved: - Improved understanding of AI by teachers and students - Improved engagement and interest of students in STEM activities - Improved digital competences of both educators and students
Through the project, we aimed to support children to develop AI literacy and become critical consumers of AI. According to the literature, teaching children the basics of AI technology, its workings, and its limitations, is one of the most efficient ways to support children develop the skills and knowledge needed to protect themselves from excessive use and possible abuse. In order to support children develop AI literature, we first had to support their teachers in developing the knowledge and skills needed to implement the curriculum materials that we developed. Hence, our goals included the following: 1. Support educators in understanding AI uses in everyday life 2. Prepare educators to teach their students about AI, its applications, strengths, and weaknesses, in line with DigiComp and DigiEDU 3. Support teachers and students in developing problem-solving skills, computational thinking, and design thinking involving AI tools and methods 4. Support teachers and students in developing their digital skills and develop a critical understanding of AI and its application to everyday life
The project was conceptualized following engagement with literature related to STEM education and current global trends. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is currently a key priority for Europe. As indicated in the recently published “White Paper on Artificial Intelligence: A European approach to excellence and trust”, a solid European AI approach is needed to promote the development and deployment of AI. Departing from this urgency, we engaged with literature on the use of AI in education and identified a gap in the knowledge base in relation to the use of AI with younger children. This is why the focus of the project was school education. The GENERATION AI project addresses the potential impact of artificial intelligence on children. This is important because although the benefits of AI and the potential for strong education value on one hand, it also possesses strong limitations on the other by placing children under scrutiny and strict monitoring, often without them knowing it. One of the best ways to support children in developing the skills and knowledge needed to protect themselves from excessive use and possible abuse is by teaching children the basics of AI technology, its workings, and its limitations.