AI Observations in TechTalk After-School Class

Third through Sixth Grade students enrolled in the TechTalk after-school class recently explored the possibilities of AI. Joy Buolamwini, an MIT graduate who addressed bias in AI Algorithms in her book Unmasking AI, influenced the discussion.

Students in TechTalk have discussed the pros and cons of artificial intelligence, used ChatGPT, and examined examples of where AI is used in the world. During this class, students explored AI art using DALL-E 3 and Hotpot.ai (a free and safe AI art generator) to create images.

A TechTalk student with his AI-generated image.

While they could create humorous and striking images, students struggled to represent themselves. For example, one student tried to make a picture of a real person. The student noticed that the AI image generator automatically applied pale skin to the person. The class discussed that people still create AI, and AI tools have biases and blindspots that can feel exclusionary to some.