Empowering kids to unpack AI algorithms: a Vanderbilt researcher’s game-based approach
Empowering kids to unpack AI algorithms: a Vanderbilt researcher’s game-based approach
Empowering kids to unpack AI algorithms: a Vanderbilt researcher’s game-based approach
Jennifer Kiilerich
April, 17, 2025
Summary
As AI becomes integral to daily life, Professor Golnaz Arastoopour Irgens of Vanderbilt University emphasizes teaching children the human influence behind algorithms. She leads a $1.5 million NSF-funded project to develop critical computing curricula for elementary students. Her game, S.P.O.T. (Solving Problems of Tomorrow), engages kids as time-traveling agents exploring the social impacts of technology. Through playful storytelling and hands-on activities like building machine learning models with robots, students learn to question AI's accuracy and ethical implications. Arastoopour Irgens aims to foster critical thinking in young learners while making technology education fun, inclusive, and socially aware.
Reference
Kiilerich, J. (2025, April 17). Empowering kids to unpack AI algorithms: A Vanderbilt researcher’s game-based approach. Vanderbilt University News. https://news.vanderbilt.edu/2025/04/17/empowering-kids-to-unpack-ai-algorithms-a-vanderbilt-researchers-game-based-approach/