Computing // Area
Artificial Intelligence
Age coverage
Ages 5 to 11
Starts at age 5 // 6 topics
Starting at age 5
- Computers in Everyday Life
Identifying computers in everyday life — not just laptops but phones, tablets, smart speakers, traffic lights, washing machines; what makes something a computer
Ages 5 to 7Concept - AI in Daily Life
Spotting AI in daily life: face unlock on a phone, video recommendations, spelling auto-correct, automatic doors that detect people; technology that seems to…
Ages 5 to 7Concept - Voice Assistants and How They Work
What happens when you talk to Alexa, Siri, or Google Assistant; they listen, try to understand, look up answers; sometimes they get it wrong; they are tools…
Ages 5 to 7Concept - Smart Versus Not-Smart Devices
Sorting objects into 'smart' (can sense and respond) and 'not smart' (just sits there); a toaster vs a smart speaker; introduction to the idea that some…
Ages 5 to 7Concept - Step-by-Step Instructions
Step-by-step instructions for everyday tasks (making a sandwich, brushing teeth); that if instructions are wrong or missing, things go wrong; computers follow…
Ages 5 to 7Concept - Real-World Robots
What a robot really is — not the sci-fi version; robots in factories, robot vacuum cleaners, robot arms in surgery; that robots follow instructions given by…
Ages 5 to 7Concept
Starts at age 7 // 7 topics
Starting at age 7
- Data and Information for Computers
What data is: information that computers use — numbers, words, pictures, sounds; everything a computer knows comes from data that people give it
Ages 7 to 9Concept - Patterns and Classification
Humans are great at spotting patterns; computers can learn to spot patterns too, but they need lots of examples; sorting and classification activities as the…
Ages 7 to 9Concept - Machine Learning Basics
How machine learning works at a conceptual level: show the computer many examples, it finds patterns, then it makes predictions about new things; hands-on…
Ages 7 to 9Concept - AI Mistakes and Limitations
Machines make mistakes; they only know what they've been shown; bad training data leads to bad results; AI is not magic — just maths on data; showing edge cases…
Ages 7 to 9Concept - Humans Versus Machines
Comparing human and machine capabilities: creativity, empathy, common sense vs speed, memory, repetition; the Turing Test (simplified); what makes humans unique
Ages 7 to 9Concept - Recommendation Systems and Filter Bubbles
How recommendation systems work: YouTube, Netflix, and shop websites track what you click and find patterns; filter bubbles; the difference between helpful…
Ages 7 to 9Concept - AI in Computer Games
How computer game characters 'decide' what to do; simple rule-based AI vs learning AI; NPCs, difficulty adjustment; AI as the opponent in chess or board games
Ages 7 to 9Concept
Starts at age 9 // 8 topics
Starting at age 9
- The Future of AI
What AI might do in 10 years; what we want it to do and what we're worried about; children as future designers and decision-makers about AI; hopeful, empowered…
Ages 9 to 11Concept - AI and the Environment
AI needs huge amounts of energy and water to train; data centres and their environmental cost; but AI can also help — predicting weather, monitoring…
Ages 9 to 11Concept - AI Data Collection and Privacy
What data AI systems collect about you; who has it and why it matters; cookies, tracking, smart speakers always listening; your data is valuable
Ages 9 to 11Concept - AI and Fairness in Decisions
Whether AI should make important decisions about people: jobs, loans, justice; who is responsible when AI makes unfair decisions; introduction to algorithmic…
Ages 9 to 11Concept - AI and the Future of Work
How AI is changing the world of work: some jobs disappear, new ones are created, many change; jobs AI can't do (yet); what skills matter in an AI world
Ages 9 to 11Concept - Designing Fair AI Rules
Design thinking applied to AI ethics: if you were designing an AI system, what rules would you give it? Who should it help? What should it not be allowed to do?
Ages 9 to 11Concept - Bias in AI Systems
If training data is biased, AI will be biased; examples: facial recognition working better for some skin tones, translation assuming gender; where bias comes…
Ages 9 to 11Concept - Deepfakes and AI-Generated Content
Deepfakes, AI-generated images and text; how to spot them and why they matter; the importance of checking sources; not everything online is real
Ages 9 to 11Concept