This AI Literacy Review covers international initiatives, a scaffolded AI literacy framework out of New Zealand, OpenAI Academy, AI in Education special journal issue, AI literacy among library and information science students in Asia and the Middle East, AI and Bloom’s taxonomy, students hiring Gen. AI consultants for class, resistance to AI, Stanford University’s STORM model, and more!
General
AI4Globe launches as an international initiative to increase AI literacy among children, women, academia, and business communities, beginning in Georgia with partners such as UNICEF, UN Women, and universities across Europe.
Stanford University launches STORM (Synthesis of Topic Outlines through Retrieval and Multi-perspective Question Asking), a large language model (LLM) that writes Wikipedia-style articles after conducting internet research to collect references and generate outlines. It adopts two strategies for improving its responses: question-asking and simulated conversations between a Wikipedia editor and a subject matter expert. More information is available on the STORM Github page.
The Washington Post publishes an article A Bottle of Water Per Email: The Hidden Environmental Costs of Using AI Chatbots by Pranshu Verma and Shelly Tan about the energy usage happening behind the scenes of Gen. AI tools. Jason Gulya’s LinkedIn post about the article garners many comments discussing the details about data centers and energy usage.
In As the AI Bubble Deflates, the Ethics of Hype Are in the Spotlight, Tania Duarte, founder of the UK nonprofit We and AI writes about their work to encourage and empower critical thinking about AI among the public.
Darren Coxon discusses how AI is making us reevaluate the notion of time due to how quickly it can generate content or analyze information, whether the domain is education or policing. (see Darren Coxon’s LinkedIn post)
Conor Grennan makes an analogy between Gen. AI and a treadmill in your basement or a gym in your workplace – just having this equipment doesn’t mean you will use it. He emphasizes the importance of behavioral change with this technology. (see Conor Grennan’s LinkedIn post)
Marc Watkins notes how Gen. AI features (such as ChatGPT’s voice interface) are often deployed without any ethical or practical guidance, leaving society to deal with both the immediate and longer-term consequences of the technology. (see Marc Watkins’ LinkedIn post)
Organizations
OpenAI launches the OpenAI Academy to provide training and technical guidance for developers and mission-driven organizations that want to leverage AI in low- and middle-income countries.
AI&Beyond collaborates with Ashoka University in a programme called AI Unboxed aimed at providing AI literacy to business leaders who are mid- to senior-level professionals who could be strategically using AI in their organizations. The first cohort is scheduled for November 2024.
Education
New Zealand educators Kathryn MacCallum, David Parsons, and Mahsa Mohaghegh publish The Scaffolded AI Literacy (SAIL) Framework for Education which was developed from a Delphi study of 17 experts in New Zealand and abroad. The framework has four levels of capability and six categories of AI literacy. The report includes examples of learning activities and info about an online AI literacy analyzer tool to assist educators with course materials.
The Teacher Learning Network (TLN) journal publishes an AI In Education issue that contributes to the ongoing discussions around AI in education, featuring articles such as “Digital Plastic in Education: Understanding the Implications of Synthetic Media” by Leon Furze and “Engaging with Generative AI in Education: Four Important Mindset Shifts” by Danny Y.T. Liu, Mark A. Bassett, and Carlo Iacono.
Simone Hirsch puts out a call for educators using AI to share their practices in a repository of real-world case studies from across all levels of education, with the plan to create a free, professional learning website where teachers can see how others are using AI in their classrooms. (see Simone Hirsch’s LinkedIn post)
In Exploring AI literacy and perceptions among library and information science students in Asia and the Middle East, Zakir Hossain surveyed the AI literacy of 816 Library and Information Science (LIS) students in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Jordan, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia. The spreadsheet data includes graphs showing students’ views on their technical understanding of AI, ethical perceptions, purpose and frequency of usage, favorite tools, and self-rated AI literacy.
A session on AI and Learning for a Sustainable Future at the 6th Asia-Pacific Meeting on Education 2030 (APMED 6) in Thailand looked at various initiatives for teacher training and AI literacy for informal sector workers such as farmers and factory workers.
Oregon State University releases the infographic Bloom’s Taxonomy Revisited as a reference for how Gen. AI can supplement learning in course activities and assessments.
Sri Yash Tadimallaa and Mary Lou Maher publish the conference paper AI Literacy for All: Adjustable Interdisciplinary Socio-technical Curriculum from the 2024 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference. They present a curriculum designed to promote an interdisciplinary understanding of AI as well as socio-technical implications and practical applications for different levels of education. They include both technical and non-technical learning outcomes with four pillars of AI literacy.
Miranda Rodak from Indiana University shares an assignment called Hire AI from her business writing course which guides students to hire their own Gen. AI consultant for the semester. This assignment is designed to build an intellectual framework for students to develop both digital literacy and AI literacy skills, to think critically about when, why, and how they use Gen. AI in their writing process. (see Miranda Rodak’s LinkedIn post)
Senior student Maryam Bacchus makes a case for AI literacy in the Vasar College student newspaper, arguing that a healthy curiosity about technology will help build students’ AI literacy and that AI should be taught in the classroom just like typing and online research have been.
Meanwhile, George Cusack in Sending the Wrong Message to Students on AI in Inside Higher Ed argues that AI literacy is important but needs to go beyond learning how to use the tools effectively and give time for thoughtful, meaningful discussion about equity issues, environmental costs, intellectual property, and creativity, not just pushing students to use AI to get ahead in the job market.
Jack Dougall categorizes users of Gen. AI into three groups, arguing that only those who aren’t treating it like a search engine and are instead engaging in debates and conversations with it are tapping into its potential. He also says grading chats is the closest thing to an AI-proof assignment and highly beneficial for improving AI literacy for teachers and students. (see Jack Dougall’s LinkedIn post)
Bryan Alexander from Georgetown University notes that he’s seeing two different perspectives on AI and education — one critical and wanting to empower students to resist the technology, and the other wanting to explore the tech and prepare students for the workforce — but both groups want AI literacy. (see Bryan Alexander’s LinkedIn post)
Jason Gulya has a discussion with students about Edgar Allen Poe’s poem “The Raven” and using AI to answer their questions about it, leaning into the opportunity to critically examine AI’s outputs and affordances. Gulya concludes that as Gen. AI moves through more of the platforms we use, AI literacy will gain in importance. (see Jason Gulya’s LinkedIn post)
