In today's digital world, artificial intelligence (AI) has become an important part of our daily lives. From the smartphones in our pockets to the streaming services we enjoy, AI is shaping our experiences and interactions. As AI grows, it's becoming increasingly important for the younger generation to learn about it.
This post aims to explore the world of AI from a child's perspective. We'll discuss:
- What AI is and how it comes into being
- Why kids should learn AI
- Fun facts about AI that kids should know
- Products for AI learning
Whether you're a parent, educator, or simply curious about AI's role in children's education, this guide will give you some insights.
What is AI and how does it come into being?
What is AI?
AI refers to a computer system designed to perform tasks that typically require human intelligence. These tasks include visual perception, speech recognition, decision-making, and language translation. In simple terms, AI is about creating smart machines that can think and act like humans.
A brief history of AI development
The concept of AI has been around for centuries. Many stories and fictions have mentioned lifelike machines or artificial beings, like E. T. A. Hoffmann’s The Sandman (1817) and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818). However, it wasn’t until the mid-20th century that AI really began to take shape. Here’s a quick timeline:
1950s: Alan Turing proposes the Turing Test to determine if a machine is intelligent.
1956: The term "Artificial Intelligence" is coined at the Dartmouth Conference.
1960s-1970s: Early AI research focuses on problem-solving and symbolic methods.
1980s-1990s: Machine learning becomes popular. Data-driven AI develops thereby.
2000s-present: Deep learning and neural networks revolutionize AI capabilities.
Nowadays, AI has become an integral part in our life. Here’s where you may use AI:
- Voice assistants like Siri, Alexa, or Google Assistant
- Game AI in video games that controls NPCs
- Recommendations on streaming platforms like Netflix or YouTube
- Face recognition features on smartphones and social media apps
- Autocorrect and predictive text on messaging apps
Why is AI important for kids to learn?
1. Getting ready for a world full of AI
Some may say that AI is too dizzy for kids to learn, so why should they waste time on it. However, let's face the fact: AI is already everywhere. Picture a world where AI helps doctors find diseases, where cars drive themselves, and where robots help in classrooms. Some decades ago, we call it a fantasy. But nowadays, many of these technologies are being developed and even used.
If AI is the trend, then it is necessary for kids to learn AI at an early age. Just like learning a new language, AI concepts are easier to grasp when introduced early. Kids who start young can build a solid understanding that will help them later in life. In the future, understanding AI might be as important as reading and writing.
2. Opening doors to future jobs
The job world is changing fast, and AI is a big reason why. Last year, OpenAI published a study about how LLMs will affect the labor market. The essay measures jobs by AI exposure and finds that LLMs have even more impacts on currently well-paid jobs, which is kind of different from how we predicted years ago.
So years later, when our younger generation go to the job market, they will see a scenario totally different from what we see these days. The experience we have are just not enough to prepare them for the future to come. However, if they learn AI early, at least they can know what this seemingly omnipotent being is and how it works, and therefore make decisions better and more easily.
AI literacy also helps kids develop skills for new jobs that pop up as AI grows. The World Economic Forum reported that while AI might replace 85 million jobs by 2025, it's also expected to create 97 million new ones. Right now, many tech companies are offering big salaries to people with AI development and fine-tuning skills, like prompt engineering. According to Forbes, there will be 20 new and enhanced jobs that AI could create. If your kids become skilled in AI as they grow up, they could have a real advantage when they start looking for jobs in the future.
3. Boosting brain power
Learning about AI isn't just about learning tech stuff. It also helps kids think in new and exciting ways:
- Problem-solving: AI is all about fixing tricky problems. Kids learn to break big problems into smaller, easier-to-solve parts.
- Logical thinking: Understanding how AI "thinks" helps kids think more logically too.
- Creativity: AI often needs out-of-the-box solutions. This pushes kids to think creatively.
- Critical thinking: Kids learn to ask good questions and not believe everything they see or hear.
What fun facts about AI should kids learn?
1. AI learns from massive data
AI algorithms, especially in machine learning, are trained on large datasets to identify patterns, make predictions, and perform tasks. For instance, large language models (LLMs) like GPT, Gemini, and LLaMA are trained on massive datasets of text and code. These models are able to generate human-quality text, translate languages, write different kinds of creative content, and answer your questions in an informative way.
AI systems for image and video recognition are also trained on vast datasets of images and videos. These systems can identify objects, people, and scenes within images and videos with high accuracy. Also, recommendation systems used by companies like Netflix, Amazon, and Spotify are trained on user data and item data. These systems are able to suggest items that users might like based on their past behavior and preferences.
2. The most popular coding language for AI is Python
Python is a popular choice for AI development due to its readability, versatility, extensive libraries, and community support.
Readability and versatility: Python is known for its clean syntax and readability, making it easy for developers to write and understand AI code. It is also a versatile language that can be used for a wide range of tasks, from data analysis to web development.
Popular libraries: TensorFlow is an open-source library that especially focuses on the training and inference of AI. PyTorch is a Python package for applications in computer vision and natural language processing. Scikit-learn is a popular machine learning library that offers a variety of algorithms for tasks like classification, regression, and clustering.
Community support: Python has a large and active community of developers, which means that there are plenty of resources available online to help with AI development, including tutorials, documentation, and forums for asking questions.
3. AI-powered devices usually need sensors to sense surroundings
Many AI-powered devices, such as autonomous cars, robots, and smart home devices, rely on sensors to interact with the physical world. These sensors collect data about the environment, which is then processed by AI algorithms to make decisions.
Autonomous vehicles: Autonomous cars use a variety of sensors, including cameras, LiDAR, radar, and ultrasonic sensors, to perceive their surroundings. These sensors help the car detect other vehicles, pedestrians, obstacles, and road markings.
Smart home devices: Smart home devices like smart speakers, thermostats, and security cameras use sensors to gather information about their environment. For example, a smart speaker might use microphones to listen for commands, while a smart thermostat might use temperature sensors to adjust the heating or cooling system.
Industrial robots: Industrial robots often use sensors like vision systems, force sensors, and proximity sensors to interact with their environment. These sensors allow the robots to perform tasks like assembly, welding, and packaging with precision.
4. Not everyone believes that LLMs will lead to AGI
Ever since ChatGPT was born, many people see LLM as the omnipotent god and think that artificial general intelligence (AGI) will come soon. However, some are still not so optimistic about LLMs. Ted Chiang, the famous sci-fi writer, published his article on New Yorker, saying that “ChatGPT Is a blurry JPEG of the web”. Yann LeCun, Chief AI scientist at Meta, thinks that the current LLMs are autoregressive, so what they’re doing is just predicting the next possible words based on existing words, rather than making true deduction and inference like humans.
No one is 100% sure that if LLM is the right way to AGI, and maybe in the years to come, we’ll also see breakthroughs in some other sub-areas of AI. Whatever the future is like, one thing is sure—AI will continue to grow.
5. AI can be good or evil, depending on how it is used
AI is a tool that can be used for both beneficial and harmful purposes. Its impact depends on how it is developed, deployed, and regulated.
Beneficial use: AI can be used to improve healthcare by diagnosing diseases, developing new treatments, and personalizing patient care. It can also be used to address climate change by optimizing energy consumption and developing sustainable materials.
Harmful use: AI can be used to create autonomous weapons, which could lead to unintended consequences and the erosion of human control over warfare. It can also be used to generate biases and discrimination, particularly if the data it is trained on is biased.
Ethical considerations: To ensure that AI is used for good, it is important to consider ethical principles such as fairness, transparency, and accountability. Some companies are also working on this. For example, Anthropic is working on the transparency of AI while improving the performance of Claude. OpenAI had also launched a superalignment team to study how to make AI systems follow the values and intent of human beings, though the team has already been dismissed according to CNBC.
Which products help kids step into AI?
For kids who are interested in AI, we provide AI Module 5s for them to have some basic ideas of AI. This kit has the following features:
Various sensors
AI Module 5s supports the following sensors: ultrasonic sensor, color sensor, temperature and humidity sensor, rotary encoder, gesture sensor, touch sensor, and single grayscale sensor. When building robots with these sensors, kids can get to know how robots perceive the physical world. We also provide kids a bunch of courses, so kids can know how to use these sensors just by following the guidance step by step.
AI vision module
AI Module 5s is integrated with AI vision module, a kind of visionary sensor that use some principles of AI. For example, this AI vision module support some kind of image recognition. You can input 10 images of an object for the system to learn in advance. Then, when it “sees” the object in specific tasks, it will compare the real-time image of this object with things it learned, and shows on the screen what kind of object it sees. This data feeding and learning is a simplified simulation of how an AI system might work.
Python coding
The coding platform for AI Module 5s is the “WhalesScratch Pro” software, which supports Scratch, C, and Python. If kids are learning AI and are interested in Python, they can open this software, click the “Code” icon in the top toolbar, and select “Python code” or “Switch to Python code editor”. The former option allows kids to view the Python version of the Scratch program they build, and the latter option allows then to directly code in Python.
Of course, our innovation in AI-driven products doesn’t end here. In the upcoming years, we’ll also produce a robot integrated with LLM. It will be a real, physical AI product that kids can interact with. Kids will see it move, hear it speak, and watch it solve problems right in front of them. Get ready to watch your kids learn, grow, and have fun with their AI buddy!
Conclusion
The journey of AI learning is an exciting one, filled with innovation and discovery. As parents and educators, our role is to encourage this learning, provide the right tools and guidance, and foster an environment where curiosity about AI can flourish. Who knows? The child playing with a toy robot today might be the one who creates the next big AI breakthrough tomorrow. So, let's encourage our kids to explore, ask questions, and have fun with AI!
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