Establishing AI Literacy before Adopting AI

Abstract

With the recent explosion of AI applications in our everyday lives, it is critical for teachers and students to become AI literate, that is, to understand the role of AI in our lives, to evaluate its pros and cons, and to use it productively. We describe a set of short-format, modular AI literacy curricula developed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology in collaboration with an implementation partner, i2Learning, to help educators introduce their students to AI and its responsible and ethical use. We used an online questionnaire to collect data from 265 individuals across the globe on how the curricula were implemented in 2022–23, including 190 teachers who collectively implemented the curricula with almost 12,000 students. Teachers reported an increase in their knowledge of AI concepts, an increase in optimism about the potential benefits of AI to society, and greater confidence in their ability to contribute to the future of AI. Similar results were reported for students. We also