Artificial Intelligence (AI) is changing the way we work, study, and interact with technology around us. As machines become smarter and start taking important decisions on our behalf, we need to be critical and aware of the issues and challenges that arise. For example, studies have already uncovered societal biases, such as gender bias and racial discrimination, being amplified by AI algorithms. Yet, how AI affects children is not well studied. Research on Child-Computer Interaction (CCI) is focused on cultivating, nurturing, and nudging children towards technology use and design, with little discussion on its ethical aspects regarding use, design, and inherent limitations, specifically for AI. Everyone today needs to be made aware of both the potential benefits and underlying biases in AI.

With this workshop, we aim to increase AI literacy in children and society through hands-on activities. We will use Teachable Machines to create machine learning models that recognize images, sounds, or poses to demonstrate that whole machines are getting smarter, they can also make mistakes. You are welcome to join the fun at the Amazing North, Ouluhalli, 9am-3pm on Tuesday May 31st and Wednesday June 1st 2022.

The workshop is organized by postdoc researchers Eva Durall Gazulla and Sumita Sharma at the INTERACT Research Unit, at the University of Oulu in Finland as a part of PAIZ and GenZ projects. Informed consent will be requested from participants and the data collected during the sessions will anonymized, analysed, and published in a Child-computer interaction venue.

[Page updated 23rdMay 2022]