AI literacy as ‘a candle in the dark’ : exploring critical perspectives towards artificial intelligence with children and youth

Abstract

While society and institutions race to catch up with the rapid proliferation of AI-based technology, it is becoming apparent and accepted that “AI literacy” is now part of modern digital literacy. This thesis presents the author’s work on two separate publications based on data gathered from two distinct types of workshops that promote AI literacy for children and youth. These studies pave the way for further efforts to discover ways to demystify the core concepts of artificial intelligence, and thus machine learning, by focusing on the workshop participants’ own perceptions of AI and their evolution during the workshop, indicating that with appropriate guidance and context, children and youth can understand the core working principles of these complex technologies to an extent that promotes AI literacy and critical thinking skills that are becoming quintessential for informed decision-making in the modern AI-saturated landscape.