Igniting curiosity on responsible technologies: A workshop on Artificial Intelligence with children

Last week I had an extraordinary experience. I typically have the chance to speak with experts or discuss the main aspects of AI and Responsible AI with brilliant professionals. But what about our youngests' curious minds? I had the privilege of conducting a 90-minute workshop on artificial intelligence with 5th grade students at Colegio Internacional SEK-El Castillo , a school in Madrid. This opportunity, kindly facilitated by the mother of one of the students and a former colleague of mine (thanks Miriam Gómez Fuentes !), allowed me to delve into the basics of AI, the workings of OpenAI's MyGPTs, and for them to create virtual tutors tailored to different subjects.

This experience came as an evolution of last year's workshop I conducted along with my wife for my daughter's third-year primary school class. This event, held in GSD Moratalaz, was a truly amazing moment in my career. First, because it was done right before joining Adigital and it was kind-of the first thing I was doing fully related to my new job. Secondly, the honor of, even if for a day, educating young minds about the positive nature of technology was overwhelming -probably, also, because my daughter was there :). It was during this session that I realized the critical importance of presenting both the opportunities and challenges posed by digital innovations. This experience underscored the necessity for children, alongside their parents and educators, to develop a clear understanding of technology.

This time, the workshop began with an introduction to the fundamentals of AI and generative AI, setting the stage for a deeper exploration into how these technologies shape our interaction with information and learning tools. The engagement from the students were really off-the-charts, as their questions and interactions reflected interest and curiosity about the subject matter. It helped one group of four children was preparing a final's year project on AI and robotics!

The highlight of the session was the hands-on activity where students were divided into five groups, each tasked with developing a virtual tutor in areas such as science, math, English as a second language, or Spanish, with OpenAI's MyGPT feature at ChatGPT Plus. By using digital materials and guided prompts, these young innovators trained their AI systems to? answer questions, provide hints or generate images, which helped me? introduce the importance of precise instruction and feedback.

What made this workshop truly remarkable was witnessing the students' realization of the potential, challenges, and limitations of AI technology. As kids they are, they came up with results like a song on present continuous in English!

Moreover, the group of students working on AI and robotics took the initiative to interview me as part of their research phase. I can truly say the interview was deeply prepared, with really hard questions!!!!

This workshop showed me the importance of introducing young learners to cutting-edge technologies like AI. With a careful approach, of course, and taking intou account the recommendations of UNESCO on how and when to introduce kids to Artificial Intelligence. But, by doing so, we? equip them with knowledge and skills relevant to their future, and ignite a passion for exploration and innovation. Many of them told me they wanted to keep "playing" with the tools and seeing how far their virtual tutor could go.

Equally remarkable was the interest shown by the school's tutors during the workshop. Their enthusiasm for understanding the possibilities that AI technology could bring to their classrooms and beyond was more than evident.

I am profoundly grateful for the opportunity to have played a part in this journey and eagerly anticipate the remarkable contributions these young minds will make to the field of AI and beyond. Thanks Miriam and the team of tutors!