Envisioning AI for K-12: What Should Every Child Know about AI?

TLDR

The ubiquity of AI in society means the time is ripe to consider what educated 21st‑century digital citizens should know about this subject. The authors invite AI researchers to reflect on the essential AI concepts every K‑12 student should know, to communicate advances to the public, and to become educators who develop resources for teachers and students. In 2018, AAAI and CSTA formed a joint working group that developed national AI guidelines for K‑12, defined grade‑level knowledge of AI, machine learning, and robotics, and built an online directory of AI teaching resources.

Abstract

The ubiquity of AI in society means the time is ripe to consider what educated 21st century digital citizens should know about this subject. In May 2018, the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI) and the Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) formed a joint working group to develop national guidelines for teaching AI to K-12 students. Inspired by CSTA's national standards for K-12 computing education, the AI for K-12 guidelines will define what students in each grade band should know about artificial intelligence, machine learning, and robotics. The AI for K-12 working group is also creating an online resource directory where teachers can find AI- related videos, demos, software, and activity descriptions they can incorporate into their lesson plans. This blue sky talk invites the AI research community to reflect on the big ideas in AI that every K-12 student should know, and how we should communicate with the public about advances in AI and their future impact on society. It is a call to action for more AI researchers to become AI educators, creating resources that help teachers and students understand our work.