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FAQs

General

  • What is artificial intelligence?

    Great question! Even experts have a hard time agreeing on a single definition for artificial intelligence, or AI. We think about AI as a branch of computer science that allows computers to make predictions and decisions and solve problems. You can learn more about AI and its many uses here.

  • Why is it important to include more people in AI?

    When artificial intelligence is created by a group that reflects the world we live in, we believe AI solutions will be more innovative, ethical, and will solve new problems. Looking to the future, we believe that everyone will be an AI consumer, so everyone deserves to have an understanding of how these technologies may be impacting their lives. Even more crucially, AI has the potential to amplify the biases of its creators. When a diversity of people is not involved in creating, guiding, and regulating AI, the risks for algorithmic bias and other unintended consequences are heightened. Finally, AI is poised to make a massive global economic impact which is right now largely off-limits to large segments of the population due to lack of access to training and other barriers. Even if the field continues on the current path, we’ll still face a shortage of adequately trained AI workers in the future.

  • Why do you target high schoolers versus university students or middle school students?

    Recent research out of Microsoft showed that girls may lose interest in STEM curricula around age 15. If you’re losing interest or feeling left out by 15, it will impact your ability to get involved in the field later on in life. That said, it’s never too late to start—you can get involved in the space or teach yourself new skills any time—but our focus is on intervening and building a support network early on.

    By focusing on high school students, we’re reaching them at a crucial time when they may be starting to lose interest in STEM. We’re also able to show how AI can be applied to real-world situations rather than teaching abstract skills.

  • Why do you focus on artificial intelligence and not computer science more broadly?

    We focus on AI because 2 of our 3 founders are leading AI researchers and saw the need to bridge the gap between existing computer science education and AI careers. Plus, the field of AI is actually significantly less diverse than the broader field of CS overall. For example, under 14% of AI researchers globally are women, whereas 26% of all people in the computing workforce are women.

  • Who develops your curriculum?

    AI4ALL’s programs are deeply rooted in research and continually tested and refined. Our curriculum is developed in-house by content experts and educators, reviewed by leading AI researchers and industry experts, and tested at top AI institutions around the world. You can learn more about our team here.

  • I work at a large company that uses data. How do I make sure we’re using the best ethical practices? Or, I’m building a product that uses AI. How do I build it in a way that mitigates bias?

    Concrete actions you can take to address bias and other risks include: 

    • Continually test, audit, and monitor AI for bias and its impact
    • Create standards around ethics and fairness (or leverage existing ones that interdisciplinary groups and AI leaders have already developed) 
    • Prioritize transparency in algorithms so people can understand how these systems arrive at predictions
    • Prioritize diversity and inclusion from the start. Though diversifying your technical team is not sufficient to ensuring ethical products, it is a key starting point.
  • I have a robots/circuits/CS-related product. How can I partner with AI4ALL to integrate the tool into your curriculum?

    Thanks so much for wanting to share your product with AI4ALL! Though we are honored by your interest, we currently do not have a need to use a specific product in our curriculum. If you are looking for AI curriculum to use alongside your product, you can look to our AI4ALL Open Learning program. It’s free and available for anyone to bring to their community.

  • Are there volunteer opportunities with AI4ALL?

    We are not able to offer regular volunteer opportunities at AI4ALL, though volunteer opportunities may occasionally arise. In order to stay up to date with volunteer opportunities, you may want to sign up for our newsletter.

    If you’re interested in volunteering at a specific AI4ALL summer program, please contact the program directly. You can find contact information for each of our summer programs on each program’s website. We link to our summer program websites from our Summer Programs page.

    If you are interested in bringing AI education for high school students to your community, learn more about the Open Learning program here.

Summer Programs

Open Learning Program

  • How can I get access to AI4ALL Open Learning?

    AI4ALL Open Learning is a free, project-based AI education program, facilitated by community members, that gives students the tools to solve problems they care about using AI. The program is designed to be used by high school teachers or community-based organizations that serve high school students to bring AI education into the classroom or community. You can access the free curriculum and extensive facilitation guides here.

  • I’m experiencing technical difficulties with the Open Learning Program platform. What should I do?

    We encourage you to check out the Learner guide for the platform, which you can find here. If you continue to experience difficulty using the platform, you may contact us using the Contact Us form and selecting the Open Learning Program Technical Troubleshooting option.

  • What is the difference between Open Learning and Summer Programs?

    Both AI4ALL Open Learning Program and AI4ALL Summer Programs are designed to welcome and support underrepresented students in AI. The curricula for both programs are project-focused, social good-focused, and approachable. AI4ALL Open Learning is designed to be used by volunteer facilitators and teachers in high school classrooms, clubs, or workshops around the world.

    AI4ALL Summer Programs are designed to be immersive summer experiences on university campuses for high school students where AI professors and graduate students provide instruction and exposure to the AI research lab experience. In addition to AI and Python instruction, Summer Programs also provide personal growth development to address the key barriers to the field that underrepresented students in AI face.

    High school students may participate in both AI4ALL Open Learning and AI4ALL Summer Programs. No prior AI experience is required or expected for either program. Learn more about Open Learning here and Summer Programs here.

  • Do you have any tips for accessing and using the Open Learning platform?

    Check out our Open Learning Platform Tips document, here.