Artificial Intelligence in Everyday Life: Educating the Public Through an Open, Distance-learning Course

Abstract

With the rise of data-driven AI and its "democratization", we are all interacting with AI-enabled technologies in everyday life. However, not everyone understands how these technologies work. There are many misconceptions surrounding what they can and cannot do, and what are the risks and benefits. Thus, there is a need to educate the general public about everyday AI, upscaling their algorithmic literacy and helping them become more informed, responsible users. We describe the development and evaluation of an eight-week course open to the public, AI in Everyday Life. Pre- and post-course questionnaires were used to evaluate the impact of the course and participants' attitudes towards AI applications. The results suggest that more targeted educational approaches are needed for the general public to fully understand the strengths and weaknesses of the use of AI-enabled technologies.