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Why Schools and Society Should Make AI Literacy A Top Priority
 – MIT RAISE Seminar Series

January 25, 2022 @ 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm

S. Craig Watkins (University of Texas at Austin , MLK Visiting Professor MIT)

Online

TITLE: Why Schools and Society Should Make AI Literacy A Top Priority

ABSTRACT: In this talk, S. Craig Watkins, an MLK Visiting Professor at MIT and the Ernest A. Centennial Sharpe Professor at the University of Texas at Austin addresses the growing role that artificial intelligence is playing in the lives of young people.   Children and teen’s exposure to AI via smartphones, streaming platforms, games, and social media suggests a world in which algorithms now proliferate and dominate.  Still, many of our schools and organizations that support young people’s health and development have done little to equip them with the skills to navigate this world with agency and literacy.  Watkins explains why we should begin developing and expanding the pathways to AI literacy as the stakes for the future of work, our democracy, and well-being have never been higher.

ABOUT MIT RAISE: Researchers from across MIT are creating new approaches and tools for teaching AI to engage learners in settings from preK-12 to the workforce through a new initiative called MIT RAISE or Responsible AI for Social Empowerment and Education. The initiative aims to foster and enrich AI literacy for everyone, not just for those with college degrees and a background in computer science. People are already learning to embrace AI technology creatively, but they must also learn to apply it responsibly, equitably and ethically. Headquartered in the MIT Media Lab, RAISE is a collaboration with the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing and MIT Open Learning. The initiative engages in research coupled with education and outreach efforts to advance new knowledge and innovative technologies that supports how diverse people learn about AI, as well as how AI can help to better support human learning. Through Open Learning and the Abdul Latif Jameel World Education Lab (J-WEL), RAISE reaches into a global network where equity and justice are key. Visit https://raise.mit.edu for more info.

Zoom webinar: https://tinyurl.com/SCraigWatkinsMITRAISE


MIT Institute for Data, Systems, and Society
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
77 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02139-4307
617-253-1764