Co-Designing AI literacy for K-12 Education

Today’s children are the first generation to grow up with AI as a natural part of their daily lives; to benefit from the opportunities AI brings, but also to face AI-related risks such as privacy invasion, exposure to biased or harmful content, manipulation through personalized advertisements, and potential dependency on AI for decision-making. Consequently, AI literacy is becoming an essential component of modern education. AI, however, is both an unfamiliar topic and a moving target due to fast development. Determining what non-experts need to know about AI is therefore not straightforward, and the answer varies based on the educational context and level. This keynote begins by exploring the challenges of introducing AI literacy in K-12 education, drawing on insights from previous computing-related K-12 curricular reforms. It then presents a four-stage process of co-creating AI lesson plans with students, teachers, and teacher trainers in Finland. Finally, we discuss the lessons learned and future ideas for AI in K-12 education.