Welcome to Your Digital Playground
Imagine kids playing in a harmonious playground full of exciting games, caring adults, friendly kids, and a clean environment. Just like we follow playground rules (sharing, taking turns, and being kind), we need similar rules for the digital world. That’s where AI ethics comes into play—your digital rulebook for using technology smartly and kindly. These rules are built on four important pillars: Accountability, Privacy, Bias, and Transparency.
What is AI Ethics for Kids?
Ethics are guidelines that help us determine what’s right and fair, much like the rules of a playground. Similarly, AI ethics is about ensuring technology is fair, safe, and helpful to everyone. Why is this important for kids?
Because today’s children are growing up in an environment that’s surrounded by technology, so they need to have ground rules guiding them to be responsible digital citizens. Let’s make it simple: Imagine driving a car. We have rules like speed limits and traffic signals to ensure everyone’s safety. AI ethics is similar in that it sets boundaries and guidelines for AI development to prevent unfavorable consequences and ensure it is used for all good.
What is AI?
AI stands for Artificial Intelligence. Think of it as a super-smart helper that can do incredible things, like:
- Drawing pictures from your ideas.
- Suggesting what to cook based on your fridge.
- Helping people from different countries talk to each other.
But just like any helper, AI needs rules to work fairly for everyone. That’s where AI ethics comes in.
Why AI Ethics Matters
Ensuring that artificial intelligence is equitable and beneficial to everybody is the focus of AI ethics. Humans must make sure AI treats everyone fairly, regardless of their history or place of residence, just as humans learn to play fair on the playground. AI ethics also strongly emphasizes safeguarding our privacy and applying AI for beneficial purposes, such as advancing human knowledge, exploration, and global improvement. We can collaborate to build a future in which these potent technologies serve the interests of all by comprehending and advancing AI ethics.
Playground Rules vs. Digital Rules Remember these playground rules?
- Be kind to others
- Take turns
- Share
- Ask before borrowing something
- Respect everyone’s feelings
These are the same rules that apply to digital and artificial intelligence.
AI ethics is all about making sure that technology is used in a responsible way that benefits everyone. Here’s how the four key pillars support this idea:
- Accountability: It’s important to have someone held responsible for what AI does.
- Privacy: We need to keep your personal information safe.
- Bias: AI should treat all people fairly and without favoritism.
- Transparency: You should understand how AI comes to its decisions.
Now, let’s take a closer look at how these principles apply to the technology you use every day.
1. Accountability: Being Responsible in the Digital Playground
Consider kids playing football and nobody is following the rules or taking responsibility for their actions. This will lead to ultimate chaos. The same thing will happen with AI if no one is accountable for how it works and the output it generates
- Example: If students are using AI homework help and the answers are wrong. Who will fix it? The onus of this lies in the developers and companies who should take the responsibility of making AI better.
- How You Can Help: You can use AI responsibly by using AI to learn (also verify it from literature or multiple references) rather than using it to do our tasks. Also, AI can provide false information sometimes so develop skills so that you can evaluate the AI output also.
Fun Activity: Digital Responsibility Game
Create a list of scenarios where we can take AI help (e.g., suggesting music). Discuss who should be accountable if something goes wrong.
2. Privacy: Protecting Your Digital Treasure
Your personal information is like your secret which you would like to share with everyone. AI systems should respect your privacy and keep your information safe.
- What to Do: Use strong passwords and think before sharing details like your name or address.
- Why It Matters: If AI doesn’t protect privacy, it could misuse your data.
Fun Activity: Privacy Detective
Choose a few popular websites apps or gaming platforms that kids use. Discuss each platform’s privacy policy and answer questions about data collection, usage, and account deletion.
3. Bias: Playing Fair with Everyone
A new kid’s play area has come up in the city. However, only kids in a particular community are allowed to play over there. How would you feel if you couldn’t explore the play area because you belonged to a different community? Will this be fair to all concerned?
- Example: A photo filter app that doesn’t work well for certain skin tones.
- How We Fix It: Include datasets from backgrounds when designing AI to ensure fairness.
Quick Activity: Spot the Bias
Read fairytales with your kids. Can you spot the bias (Think about Rapunzel rescuing herself with clever ideas instead of waiting for help. How does this change the story?). Now rewrite the story challenging traditional roles and stereotypes. Brainstorm gender-sensitive roles and start conversations about fairness.
4. Transparency: Understanding How AI Works
Did you know that tools like ChatGPT and Gemini use lots of your data to work? But sometimes, they don’t tell us exactly how. For example, interactions with such tools may be stored, analyzed, or used to fine-tune the AI models, often without explicit consent or detailed explanations to users. Concerns regarding privacy and trust are raised by this lack of transparency regarding the collection, storage, and use of data, underscoring the necessity of explicit policies and user empowerment through informed decision-making.
- Example: Sharing your feelings: Telling your parents how you are feeling, even if it’s a challenging situation is being transparent. It helps them understand you better.
For Parents: An AI model flagging a potential tumor in a patient’s scan. The AI model can highlight the specific areas of the image that led the model to flag the tumor. This transparency will build trust and help doctors to make informed decisions.
- Why It Matters: Transparency builds trust and helps you understand AI better.
Fun Activity: Storytime
Create a story about a magical wish-granting tree and discuss how the characters feel when their decision-making is unclear versus transparent. Discuss how clear explanations build trust, just like transparency in AI.
Balancing the Four Pillars
To create a fair and safe digital world we need to balance accountability, privacy, bias, and transparency. Here’s how:
- Accountability: Be responsible for how you use technology.
- Privacy: Protect your personal information.
- Bias: Treat everyone fairly and encourage inclusive AI.
- Transparency: Learn how AI works and make informed choices.
Become an AI Ethics Superhero!
Kids are at the forefront when it comes to using and being used by AI, and that can leave them in a position to get hurt. “Because they are developing intellectually and emotionally and physically, they are very shapeable,” says Steve Vosloo (UNICEF).
We need to teach kids how to use technology wisely, treat everyone with kindness, and protect their personal information. By embracing the four pillars of AI ethics – fairness, accountability, transparency, and privacy – we can all work together to create a fair and safe digital world for everyone. Let’s empower the next generation to navigate the digital world with confidence and responsibility.
Want to learn more about AI and coding for kids? Book a trial class with SkoolOfCode today and start your journey as a Digital Superhero! 🚀
By –Dr. Kadam Bhambari, an Educator at SkoolofCode with Ph.D. and MTech in Electronics. She is an expert in micro:bit, Arduino, and Artificial intelligence.