MIT RAISE announces Day of AI
Annual event will empower K-12 educators to teach artificial intelligence literacy to students of all backgrounds.
MIT is announcing the launch of Day of AI: an annual educational event wherein teachers across the country will introduce students to artificial intelligence and its role in their daily lives, using a curriculum developed by MIT researchers. In collaboration with education provider i2 Learning, MIT RAISE is providing free training and support to teachers to help them bring AI into their classrooms through engaging, hands-on activities. The first Day of AI will be on May 13, 2022.
Increasingly, kids and adults alike are interacting with, and being influenced by, AI in ways they may not even realize, and have little or no control over — from search algorithms to smart devices, video recommendations to facial recognition. The goal of Day of AI is to help kids and teachers develop the AI literacy needed to navigate this AI-driven world.
“This generation of students, who are literally growing up with AI, deserves more than a vague understanding of these incredibly powerful technologies that are ubiquitous in their lives,” says Professor Cynthia Breazeal, director of MIT RAISE, senior associate dean for Open Learning, and head of the Media Lab’s Personal Robots group. “They need not just knowledge of what AI is and how it works, but also the agency to use AI responsibly with confidence and creativity.”
The Day of AI curriculum and activities are designed to equip educators to give students across the US an entry point into AI literacy. For the first year, MIT RAISE and i2 Learning have created age-appropriate curriculum modules for grades 3–5, 6–8, and 9–12, including those with little or no technology experience. Subsequent years may include modules for even younger children (preK-grade 2). Up to four hours of lesson plans are provided for each age group, and teachers can choose to run any number of the lessons provided. Examples of lessons and activities include building a face recognition app or a recommendation system, using AI to create works for art, learning about GANs and deepfakes, and exploring and discussing algorithmic bias and making recommendations on the responsible design of social media platforms.
Our world is becoming even more powered by AI, often without our awareness: health care, job searches, banking and finance, entertainment, and many other industries are on the verge of developing and adopting AI technologies that will change the way we live.
“By the time today’s middle schoolers graduate from college, they may be entering a workforce that’s virtually unrecognizable from the one their parents experienced. We need to start preparing them — and empowering them — for that future now,” says Jeffrey Leiden, MD, PhD, Executive Chairman of Vertex Pharmaceuticals, which is a founding sponsor of Day of AI. “Getting kids interested in these technologies is all about creating fun, hands-on experiences where they can explore applications in the real world, and delivering those experiences equitably so students from all backgrounds can access them.”
Resources and training will be provided at no cost to educators, and all of the activities suggested in the Day of AI curriculum require only an internet connection and a laptop.
“It’s thrilling to see this hands-on effort to bring AI education to scale,” says Tom Cowan, co-founder of TDM Growth Partners, another founding sponsor of Day of AI. “With Day of AI, MIT RAISE and i2 Learning are putting years of research and field work into an easily accessible educational program which can have a real, positive long-term impact on our world.”
Beginning on October 18, teachers can sign up for a free online professional development workshop, offered at multiple convenient times from December 2021 through April 2022. Professional development workshops are optional with teachers attending the training receiving a certificate of completion that may be applied toward PD credits.
“Initiatives like Hour of Code and Scratch Day have helped countless students gain familiarity with coding. Day of AI takes that concept the next step forward: giving students and teachers the tools to develop AI literacy and actually work with it in a meaningful way,” says Breazeal.
Learn more about Day of AI at dayofai.org.
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