Imagine a classroom of school children dedicating part of their school day to learn from their teachers about artificial intelligence (AI) – not only the technology, but its applications, career paths, how it influences society, and its implications for digital citizenship and its responsible design and use. The teacher, with little previous experience in computers or programming, confidently introduces their students to how AI is shaping today’s world through examples that students can relate to, hands-on exercises, engaging class discussions, videos, and regionally/culturally/age-appropriate adaptive lessons. This is not wishful thinking or hope for someday, it is happening now in thousands of classrooms across the globe, thanks to Day of AI.
MIT RAISE Initiative (Responsible AI for Social Empowerment and Education) researchers developed Day of AI, a free, high-impact, short curriculum for teachers and students in grades K-12. In 2023 the second annual Day of AI reached 3400 teachers in the US, in all 50 states; 7500 teachers worldwide in 114 countries; plus an additional 3000+ in Latin America from the Spanish-translated website and materials. A new data science and climate curriculum will be released this year, along with teacher professional development on responsible use of AI in the classroom.
One Step Forward Education Foundation is proud to collaborate with Day of AI and help to inspire multidisciplinary, creative design, critical thinking, problem-solving, and responsible-use learning. AI is for everyone, and AI is everywhere. It impacts our personal and professional lives and the lives of our children. Programs like Day of AI help us proactively teach the next generation the great responsibility that comes with these great advancements.