Establishing the concept of AI literacy: Focusing on competence and purpose

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the concept, competence, and educational goals of artificial intelligence (AI) literacy to explore the basic competencies required for life in the AI era. Modern society is foreshadowing a new world, unlike the previous framework. Beyond the ability to read and write, literacy now also implies the ability to network and contact wider circles with greater information. In education, the learner's frame has gained greater importance than the teacher's frame. AI is playing a central role in making these changes. Like writing, AI has entered the system of everyday life and become a target of basic literacy. This study explored the concept and characteristics of AI literacy. AI contributes to enhancing human abilities by expanding human relationships and the scope of information acquisition. However, these characteristics of AI require humans to independently choose what humans need to know and whom to connect with. Knowing what to know is metacognition. Therefore, this study considered metacognition as competence in AI literacy. In addition, attempting to acquire more accurate knowledge through metacognition involves an effort to anticipate an uncertain future. Thus, the purpose of AI literacy is to have anticipation capabilities.