What Is Artificial Intelligence?

🕐 5 min 44 sec 👦 Ages 9–12 🌍 English
Join Owlo and Koko as they explore the fascinating world of Artificial Intelligence and how it impacts our lives!
Understand what Artificial Intelligence is Recognize AI in everyday life Explore how learning works, like riding a bike
📖 Story Script
                    Koko:
                    Owlo, you will not believe what happened at school today. Ms. Petra used a computer program to grade our drawings, and it actually gave me feedback!
                
                    Owlo:
                    Oh, that sounds like quite the experience, Koko. What did you think of it?
                
                    Koko:
                    It was a little strange, honestly. The computer said my fox drawing had "excellent use of warm colors." How does a computer even know that?
                
                    Owlo:
                    That is a wonderful thing to wonder about, Koko. What you experienced today is called Artificial Intelligence. Most people just call it AI.
                
                    Koko:
                    Artificial Intelligence. That sounds like something from a science fiction movie.
                
                    Owlo:
                    It does sound that way, doesn't it? But AI is very real, and it is already part of your everyday life. Let me show you something in the science lab.
                
                    Owlo:
                    Here, come look at this diagram on the board. Think of your brain for a moment. How do you learn something new?
                
                    Koko:
                    Well, I practice it a lot. Like when I learned to ride my bike, I fell a bunch of times and then got better.
                
                    Owlo:
                    Exactly right. You learned by trying, making mistakes, and improving. AI learns in a very similar way, except it uses data instead of a bicycle.
                
                    Koko:
                    Data? You mean like numbers and stuff?
                
                    Owlo:
                    Data means information. It could be numbers, pictures, words, or sounds. An AI program studies millions of pieces of information to find patterns.
                
                    Koko:
                    So the computer that graded my drawing had looked at millions of other drawings before mine?
                
                    Owlo:
                    Most likely, yes. It studied so many drawings that it learned what warm colors look like, and what good composition means. Then it applied that knowledge to yours.
                
                    Koko:
                    That is actually kind of impressive. But wait, is the computer actually thinking? Like, does it have a brain?
                
                    Owlo:
                    That is one of the biggest questions in science right now, Koko. AI does not have a brain the way you do. It does not have feelings or curiosity.
                
                    Koko:
                    So it is not really intelligent like a person is intelligent?
                
                    Owlo:
                    It is intelligent in a narrow way. It can be incredibly good at one specific task, like recognizing colors or translating languages. But it cannot wonder, or dream, or care about anything.
                
                    Koko:
                    So it is like a really, really fast calculator that learned a lot of tricks?
                
                    Owlo:
                    That is honestly one of the best descriptions I have ever heard, Koko. A very fast, very well-trained calculator. You are not far off at all.
                
                    Koko:
                    Okay but how does it actually learn? Like, who teaches it?
                
                    Owlo:
                    Great question. Let me grab this book from the shelf. There is a concept called machine learning. Programmers feed the AI thousands of examples.
                
                    Koko:
                    What kind of examples?
                
                    Owlo:
                    Say you want to teach an AI to recognize apples. You show it ten thousand pictures labeled "apple" and ten thousand pictures labeled "not apple." Over time, it figures out the pattern on its own.
                
                    Koko:
                    So the humans set it up, but then the AI kind of teaches itself from all those examples?
                
                    Owlo:
                    Precisely. The humans design the system and provide the data. The AI finds the patterns inside that data. That process is called training.
                
                    Koko:
                    Training. Like how Coach Bello trains us before a big race?
                
                    Owlo:
                    Very much like that. The more quality training it gets, the better it performs. And just like in sports, the quality of the practice matters a lot.
                
                    Koko:
                    Okay, so AI is useful. But I also heard some grownups saying it can be dangerous. Is that true?
                
                    Owlo:
                    That is a really mature thing to bring up. AI is a tool, and like any powerful tool, it depends on how people use it. A hammer can build a house or break a window.
                
                    Koko:
                    So AI is not good or bad by itself. It depends on the people using it?
                
                    Owlo:
                    Exactly. That is why it is so important for your generation to understand it. The young people growing up with AI will be the ones deciding how it is used.
                
                    Koko:
                    That is a big responsibility. I kind of want to learn how to build one someday.
                
                    Owlo:
                    And you absolutely could. Many AI programmers started out just being curious, exactly like you are right now.
                
                    Koko:
                    Imagine an AI trained on all my adventures. It would probably just recommend running into trouble every five minutes.
                
                    Owlo:
                    It would be the most chaotic AI ever built. Now, before we wrap up, can you tell me what you learned today about Artificial Intelligence?
                
                    Koko:
                    Okay, so. AI stands for Artificial Intelligence. It is not a real brain, but it is a computer system that learns from huge amounts of information called data.
                
                    Koko:
                    It finds patterns in that data, and the more it practices, the better it gets. That process is called training. And AI is not good or bad on its own. It depends on how people use it.
                
                    Koko:
                    Oh, and also, I give very good descriptions of things. A fast calculator that learned a lot of tricks. I should put that on my report card.
                
                    Owlo:
                    Full marks on the summary, Koko. Next time, maybe we explore how AI is used in medicine, or how artists and musicians are working alongside it.
                
                    Koko:
                    Yes please. I want to know if an AI could ever write a story as good as the ones we have here at school.
                
                    Owlo:
                    Now that, my curious little fox, is a question worth exploring.