Title of the course:
AI competence and structure of resistance to misinformations
What was the trigger for the concept for the course?
As Deputy director of a university libraryI actually have observed how technologies of artificial intelligence in society became commonplace. They help shape our media. They influence ours social interactions.
And that's them too Redesign education.
Through conversations with colleagues and students, I discovered an urgent need: a course that demystifies AI and students gives tools with which they’ll find their way around in a rapidly developing digital landscape.
This need is relevant within the face of today Increasing spread of misinformation on the Internet.
AI-controlled social media algorithms- Is utilized by Facebook and TikTok, for example-and tools for content generation like Chatt Can increase certain voices and canopy others.
Anyone who uses AI tools with malicious intent can even create completely unsuitable content, z Deepfake videos or misleading AI generated news articles. By understanding this dynamic, students can change into more demanding consumers and responsible users of data.
I worked with Faculty member Michael Griffin And Deputy director of educational technology Tamatha Perlman To design a course that introduces students to different AI areas.
This includes machine learning – how computer systems imitate the best way by which people learn – and deep learningThe artificial neural networks uses to learn from data.
We also go into it Generative AI – a type of AI that may create pictures, videos and other data forms – and fast engineeringthe input requests for the management of AI models.
What is being examined within the course?
The course deals with two topics: AI competence And strengthen the resistance to misinformation.
The students learn AI technologies resembling Processing of natural languagethat it enables machines to grasp and generate human language, and Generative AI. They examine how these tools influence the best way information is created, shared and interpreted.
Then we take care of the moral implications from AI, from data protection to bias and algorithmic transparency-the principle of creating AI decision processes comprehensible and verifiable.
The idea is to advertise a differentiated understanding of the potential benefits of AI. An example is AI tools that personalize educational content By adapting the lesson to the training pace and the training form of a student.
We also examine possible pitfalls. For example, some AI setting tools have discriminated against certain demographic groups, for instance systems that disruptly discriminate against them Rejected résumés of ladies for technical professions.
The course also examines cognitive distortions or systematic patterns of deviation from the rationality within the judgment, which might make people more liable to misinformation.
We take a look at Confirmation errorThe tendency to look for information that supports your individual beliefs. We also check Up -to -date effectThe tendency to offer current information more weight than previous data.
Students experiment with AI tools like Chatgpt, Twins And Notebootklm. They do that to look at case studies on misinformation and to take part in discussions on some complex questions.
This includes: When does AI help to learn? When does it hinder learning? How can AI be used more responsibly? How can we see that it’s manipulated?
Why is that this course relevant now?
AI tools are getting used increasingly more Embedded in social media And News content. It is subsequently necessary for college kids to differentiate credible sources from misleading content.
With the further development of AI technologies, the methods to spread misinformation are also developing.
These include AI generated pictures and synthetic mediaThis is digitally created or modified content that ought to appear authentic.
It might be difficult to discover and authenticate all of those technologies. This course gives the scholars the tools to make well -founded decisions within the digital age.
What is a crucial lesson from the course?
Many students are surprised once they learn that AI-based platforms adapt content to their interests.
For example, the repute of a series of videos on a selected topic can result in increasingly similar content, which strengthens existing beliefs. This in turn can shape perceptions and deform reality.
In order to tackle this problem, we introduce the scholars into practical techniques to expand their sources of data. You also learn to offer facts with cross -references and to ascertain the content curated by AI.
For example, we practice a method called “Lateral Reading”, by which students check information by examining several sources at the identical time.
What materials does the course include?
Unesco Curriculum for media and data competence- e-version inspired our curriculum.
In addition to articles from scientific specialist journals, we use the evaluation of false information comprehensively for articles and videos, which were published by the New York Times, Washington Post and other major news agencies. These sources offer quite a few examples from practice and enable students to take care of current and relevant case studies.
We also check the AI competence framework for college kids And The AI competence framework for teacherslaunched by UNESCO in September 2024. These framework works offer worthwhile insights into the promotion of AI competence and the moral handling of AI technologies.
What does the course prepare for the scholars?
The aim is to enable students to approach digital information with a critical and informed way of pondering. This becomes responsible residents in an increasingly shaped world.
The course will even help the scholars feel safer in the event that they discover credible sources, counteract information and understand AI-based content. These skills can be of great profit to the scholars of their academic and private life.
