Minds On: Spot the AI Around You
Welcome to Your Voice is Power! Your Voice is Power is a program that combines music, social justice, and technology.
In this course you are going to learn to spot AI around you, learn how it works, and learn how to be smart when using AI. You can work at your own pace. Your answers are saved in this browser as you go.
Activity 1: What is AI? (3 minutes)
Before you read the official definition, take a guess. In your own words, what is artificial intelligence?
My definition
Your answers are saved in this browser only. You can copy or download everything you wrote from the last lesson.
Here is the definition we will use
- Artificial Intelligence (AI)
- When a computer mimics human intelligence or behaviour.
Activity 2: Find examples of AI (7 minutes)
Can you think of a time when an app or website
- recommended something to you?
- decided what you would see without asking?
AI is often used to make recommendations or suggestions.
- When your video streaming service lists "Recommended for you" or "Because you watched…", that is done with AI.
- When your music app makes a playlist for you, that is done with AI.
- When an online store shows "others also bought", that is done with AI.
Sometimes it is more subtle. Many of the ads that pop up on websites are selected by AI, and what appears in your social media feed is often decided by AI.
Check your understanding
Which of these is most likely using AI?
AI acts like a human
Listening, talking, seeing, moving, thinking, and creating are all things humans do. When you see technology doing these activities, it is usually AI.
| Human activity | Example | Type of AI |
|---|---|---|
| Listening | Asking your phone what the weather is, or asking a speaker to play a song | Speech to text |
| Talking | A map app telling you when to turn, or a phone reading your messages out loud | Text to speech |
| Seeing | Face ID unlocking a phone, or a filter that puts a hat on your head | Image recognition |
| Moving | A robot that walks, jumps, or runs, or warehouse robots that avoid bumping into people | Robotics |
| Thinking | A self-driving vehicle, or the computer opponent in a video game deciding its next move | Decision making |
| Creating | A tool that draws a picture from a sentence, or writes a story, summary, or email | Generative AI |
Where have you met AI?
Think about the last week. Where did a computer, robot, or device act like a human?
Your answers are saved in this browser only. You can copy or download everything you wrote from the last lesson.
Coming up
You can spot AI now. In the next lesson you will find out how AI actually works, and test whether you are as smart as AI.
Finished this lesson?
Mark it complete so you can pick up where you left off.