Abstract
Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI), the "computational techniques that are capable of generating seemingly new, meaningful content such as text, images, or audio from training data" (Feuerriegel et al., 2023), offers young people many creative and learning opportunities, but also raises risks of misinformation/disinformation, ethical concerns, bias, digital divides and academic integrity issues (Abdelaal et al, 2019; Charisi et al., 2022; European Commission, 2023). The urgent need to explore how GenAI, is changing learning experiences and whether young people possess the learning skills required (Yang, 2022, p.2), such communication, collaboration, critical thinking, creativity (Ng et al., 2023) has been emphasized at an international level (The Council of Europe, 2019a; 2019b; UNICEF, 2021). However, there is a lack of foundational training and sufficient research with younger learners in schools to empower them with information literacy skills for GenAI earlier in life (Ofcom, 2022; Smahel et al., 2020).
The GenAISiS project, which is funded by Responsible Ai UK aims to empower young people’s voice and raise public awareness of GenAI across schools, parents and the library profession. We have partnered with the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals in Scotland (CILIPS), Scottish school library partners and young people to empirically explore the responsible use of GenAI in schools and develop co-created educational resources (in the form of cartoon video resources and online openly accessible educational toolkits) for promoting the responsible use of GenAI among young people.
As part of the project, which runs from September 2024 to August 2025, a total of 18 young people (13 years old) from three secondary schools in Scotland will experiment with GenAI to find information and create images on UNESCO Sustainable Goals, such as poverty eradication and gender equality, critically reflecting on the outcomes, via a series of focus groups that will explore GenAI use, information literacy, transparency/trust, bias/inclusion/discrimination and privacy/data safety and security. Drawing from the empirical data collected from schools, a cartoon video story will be co-created, using Plotagon Story, an animation tool that allows to create realistic characters with real voice overs, expressions, scenes, music and effects. After experimenting with GenAI, young people will incorporate their own prompts and responses (textual and visual) into the story. GenAISiS also aims to design and produce with university library science students (as emerging school library professionals) an open educational toolkit on GenAI, aimed at educators, which will complement the cartoon stories with lesson plans, learning activities and curated external resources. Finally, three GenAI openly available online training workshops, will be organised for teachers, school librarians and parents, using the co-created resources to increase awareness of risks, deliver core information literacy skills and help capitalise the positive uses of GenAI.
The project is founded on EDI principles, supporting under-represented groups, following the ‘United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child (UNCRC)’ (UNICEF, nd.). The presentation will offer an overview of the project innovative co-creation and story-telling design and authentic and insightful empirical data from young people’s experiences that are currently being collected and analysed.
‘This work was supported by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council [grant number EP/Y009800/1], through funding from Responsible Ai UK (RAI-SK-BID-00024)'
References
References
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