"Artificial intelligence is generally used as an umbrella term for the science of making machines smart. In scientific circles, AI is a computer system that can gather data and use that data to make decisions or solve problems. Another common scientific way of describing AI is that it is a software program combined with hardware that can collect (or sense) inputs from the environment around it, evaluate and analyze those inputs, and make outputs and recommendations—all without the intervention of a human." Philip L. Frana, & Michael J. Klein. (2021). Encyclopedia of Artificial Intelligence : The Past, Present, and Future of AI. ABC-CLIO.
While it may seem like a new area of study, humans have been developing AI for quite a while. What has changed recently is the availability of AI platforms to consumers. Use the resources below to learn more about the most commonly available types of AI.
"Literacy was popularly understood as an ability to read and write (McBride, 2015). In today's digital era, the emergence of the knowledge-based society implies that every citizen must be ‘digitally literate’ and possess basic competencies in order to be on a better footing in terms of equal opportunities in their workplaces (Bawden, 2008, p. 102). This term has been extended to new literacies such as media, digital, information, computer and AI literacy (Kong et al., 2021)." - Ng, D. T., Leung, J. K., Chu, S. K., & Qiao, M. S. (2021). Conceptualizing AI literacy: An exploratory review. Computers and Education: Artificial Intelligence, 2. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.caeai.2021.100041
If you have ever played games to learn how to type or worked with a librarian on evaluating sources, you have already received different forms of literacy instruction outside of reading and writing. To work on becoming AI literate, you can try to know what products you use everyday have it incorporated, how it impacts you, and what ethics went into the building of that product.
You may not understand how the coding on your computer works, but you know when to call IT. You may not understand the methodology of a research study mentioned in a clickbait article, but you know to dig further into the information. You don't need to become an AI expert to be AI literate, but you should take the time to learn more.
Now that you have an idea on what AI can do and that you should be AI literate to some degree. Take a deeper look at specific parts of AI that you may encounter both in and out of the classroom.