Teaching sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

10 minutes

Tune In: AI in our daily life

25 minutes

Find Out: What does an AI specialist do?

20 minutes

Take Action: Think like an AI specialist

5 minutes

Reflection

Learning intentions

Students will:

develop an understanding of AI specialist careers and skill sets
explore AI specialist careers across the industry.

Success criteria

Students can:

discuss AI specialist careers, including skills and industry applications
propose an AI-based solution to a real-world problem.

Tune In: AI in our daily life

Step 1

Highlight to students that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is so common that most of us use it every day.

Ask students to think-pair-share examples of AI that they or their family have used today, or this week. List them on the board.

Some examples might be:

reading the AI summary from a Google search
instructing an AI chatbot to generate a paragraph
choosing and watching movies and TV through streaming platforms
listening to playlists on music platforms
using facial recognition to unlock a smartphone
using a translation app
using their smartphone camera's software to remove a background object.

Identify any examples that may not actually be AI, such as basic spell-checking (traditional ones simply compare to a dictionary and apply simple rules) or automatic doors (which use motion or pressure sensors). Explain that we will be defining AI in more detail later in this lesson.

Step 2

Explain to students that AI may be even more prevalent than they thought. Make sure each student has a copy of the Becoming an AI Specialist Activity Worksheet.

Group students in pairs to look at the examples of AI in Question 1 in the Activity Worksheet. Then, instruct each pair to choose one example and write a list of pros and cons for it.

In writing their pros and cons, students should consider different categories where the type of AI might cause ‘good’ or ‘bad’ effects, such as:

Personal health and wellbeing: How does AI improve people’s safety, health or quality of life? Could it cause harm or stress if it makes a mistake or gives incorrect information? How should personal data or sensitive information be protected when using this type of AI?
Social and family life: How might this use of AI change how people communicate, learn or spend time together? Could it influence how people think, behave or make decisions? Could some people benefit more than others from this technology?
Government and politics: How could this use of AI help governments make decisions or provide public services? Could the use of this AI affect people’s rights, privacy or freedoms? Who should be responsible for ensuring this technology is used fairly and transparently?
Economy and businesses: How might the use of this AI improve efficiency, productivity or innovation? Could it change the types of jobs people do or the skills they need? Who benefits financially from this technology, and who might be disadvantaged?
The environment: How could the use of this AI help protect or improve the natural environment? Could developing or running this AI system use large amounts of energy or resources?

Connect identifying ‘good’ and ‘bad’ effects to ethical considerations.

Step 3

As a class, discuss some of the pros and cons that students identified from their chosen examples.

Find Out: What does an AI specialist do?

Step 1

Before discussing what an AI specialist does, propose that your class identify what AI is and what it isn't. Ask students to work in pairs to compose a definition in their own words that reflects their understanding.

Present slide 2 in the AI Visual Explainer and compare with students’ definitions. Explain that it can sometimes be tricky to distinguish between traditional software and AI software. Show slide 3 and point out that a key difference is that traditional software follows instructions (predefined rules and human-defined logic) and AI software learns – instead of following instructions, the system uses mathematical models to ‘train’ itself to make decisions. Invite students to make any changes to their original AI definition after discussing slides 2 and 3.

Step 2

Instruct students to continue working in pairs to classify the statements in Activity 2 of their Activity Worksheet. Each statement can be classified as traditional software, AI software or neither. As a class, discuss students' answers, using the suggestions below:

	Suggested answers for discussion
A chatbot responds with informed summaries after being trained on millions of internet articles.	This is an example of AI software. These applications are impressive because they are trained on vast amounts of human-made data.
A phone automatically turns off when its battery level reaches 1%.	This is an example of traditional software. A simple IF-THEN decision is taking place.
Conservation software learns to distinguish between camels and kangaroos when presented with satellite photos.	This is an example of AI software. Objects can be recognised because the software has been trained on numerous images with and without those objects.
A character in a video game walks to the same place each day at a specific hour.	This is an example of traditional software. Games have long used the term ‘AI’ to refer to computer-controlled characters, but behaviour based on machine learning was very rare until recently.
‘AI’ robots with emotions want to take over the world.	This is best classified as neither. Most AI specialists work towards applications that are useful and are not concerned with creating artificial consciousness or emotions.
Camera software gives strange results in a picture it generates after being asked to remove a jellyfish from behind a scuba diver.	This is an example of AI software because the program learns patterns from training data to generate a new image, and if that training data is biased or incomplete – such as lacking underwater photos – AI may produce inaccurate or unusual results.
A driverless car decides to stop because it recognises a person crossing the road in front of it.	This is an example of AI software combined with traditional software. Driverless car software uses AI to recognise objects, but its decisions may be coded more traditionally, e.g. IF a person is X distance from the car, THEN stop.

Step 3

Explain that, as we’ve learnt, AI trains itself to make decisions. Many industries, therefore, require AI specialists to design, develop and implement the AI systems they use. Show slide 4 in the Visual Explainer to highlight the industries that AI specialists work in. Invite students to share any information they know about these industries or about anyone working in them.

As a class, discuss what these industries have in common, noting that all do one or more of the following:

generate large amounts of data
require automation
benefit from predictive insights.

Step 4

Now that you’ve identified some of the most popular industries employing AI specialists, outline to students that they will look at a case study of ‘A day in the life of an AI specialist’. Direct students to read the case study about Jon in their Activity Worksheet.

Point out that Jon mentions both ‘human’ (sometimes referred to as ‘soft’ skills) and technical skills to be an AI specialist. Explain that human skills refer to non-technical abilities, such as time management, collaboration and communication.

As a class, discuss the skills Jon mentions and add them to the table under the case study in the Activity Worksheet.

Technical skills	Human skills
Mathematics	Patience
Machine Learning systems (deep learning, neural networks)	Curiosity
Coding (e.g. Python) and machine learning algorithms	Attention to detail
Data skills (processing, cleaning, analysing)	Creativity
	Problem-solving
	Collaboration and communication
	Ethical decision-making

Step 5

Present slide 5 of the Visual Explainer – Pathways to becoming an AI Specialist.

Emphasise to students that these are suggested pathways into these types of roles, but that people often find their way into tech after prior experience in other fields, through on-the-job training, by being self-taught, or a combination of these.

Highlight to students that, increasingly, even entry-level roles in various industries, such as design, administration, and data labelling, require AI skills.

Step 6

Explain to students that, as we discovered earlier in the lesson and from the case study, AI software now shapes many of the products and services we use and rely on every day. Outline that students will work in small groups to conduct ‘rapid research’ on a product or service that has evolved because of AI. Set a time limit of around 10–15 minutes.

During this time, students should:

choose a specific product or service (e.g. automated supermarket check-outs, driver assistance in cars, web search engines)
use their own knowledge as well as online research to find out more about how that product or service has evolved due to the incorporation of AI
note dot points in the space provided for the ‘Rapid research’ activity in their Activity Worksheet, considering how usability and efficiency of the product or service have been affected.

Once students have completed their rapid research, invite one person from each group to briefly name the product and service, then outline the way that product or service has evolved with the incorporation of AI.

Take Action: Think like an AI specialist

Step 1

Outline to students that AI specialists, like other tech professionals, design and develop solutions for real-world problems. Remind students of the definition of AI and the various human skills required in the AI specialist field. Connect designing and developing solutions with the example products or services students researched in the previous activity.

Step 2

Explain that students are to complete a challenge – ‘AI for good’. This is a quick design thinking challenge to ideate an ethical digital solution that includes AI.

Group students into groups (3–4).
Each group should use the prompts in the ‘AI for good’ activity in their Activity Worksheet to:
- Choose a real-world problem e.g. improving school wellbeing, reducing food waste, supporting elderly people at home, or detecting fake online reviews.
- Ideate an AI solution to a selected real-world problem by answering:
  - What problem are we solving?
  - What type of data would the AI need? (such as survey responses, photos, sales numbers, attendance data)
  - What decisions would the AI make?
  - What risks or ethical issues might exist?
Groups present their solution to the class using a one-minute pitch.

Reflection

Display slide 6 of the Visual Explainer and prompt students to think about this question:

Which parts of an AI system should always require human judgement? Why?

Becoming an AI Specialist

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Summary

Learning intentions

Success criteria

Lesson Guides and Printables

Lesson Details

Skills Required

Curriculum Mapping

Resources Required

UN Sustainable Development Goals

Additional Information

Related Professional Learning

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