Fostering Youth’s Critical Thinking Competency about AI through Exhibition

Title of the Paper

Cultivating Critical Thinking Skills in Adolescents through Artificial Intelligence Exhibitions

Bibliographic Information

• Subject Areas: AI Education; Critical Thinking; Informal Learning; Human-Computer Interaction
• Keywords: AI Education, Informal Learning, Artificial Intelligence Exhibitions, Critical Thinking, Adolescent Learning

Research Background and Issues

• What problems or challenges did the authors identify?

  1. Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology has deeply permeated the daily lives of young people, yet their critical thinking skills regarding AI have not been adequately developed.
  2. Many current AI education methods focus on imparting technical knowledge while neglecting the cultivation of evaluation skills related to AI ethics and impacts.
  3. While classroom education provides structured learning, it has limitations in supporting the development of individual critical thinking skills.

• Why is this issue important?

  • AI offers numerous opportunities in entertainment and education but also brings negative impacts such as privacy concerns, algorithmic bias, and echo chambers. The future integration of society with AI demands higher AI literacy among adolescents.
  • Adolescence is a critical transitional period from childhood to adulthood, making it particularly significant for fostering higher-order thinking skills such as critical thinking.

• Research Motivation and Related Work

  • Recent studies have attempted to introduce AI education into classrooms through ethics courses and computer science curricula but have failed to ensure that every student can independently develop critical thinking based on their own cognitive styles.
  • Exhibitions and museums, as informal learning environments, have the potential to stimulate critical thinking through interaction and artistic expression, but their educational functions require further exploration.

Solution

• What methods or solutions did the authors propose?

  • The authors designed an AI-related exhibition called “AI with Weird Wonderland” to cultivate adolescents' critical thinking skills through informal learning.

• What are the innovative aspects of this solution?

  1. Integrating adolescents' daily life experiences, the exhibition connects AI-related issues with their personal lives.
  2. Collaborating with diverse participants (designers, AI technology developers, and artists) to present the complexity of AI technologies and their impacts through artistic creation.
  3. Employing interactive, abstract expression, narrative design, and guided experiences to enhance the immersion and authenticity of the learning experience.

• What are the implementation steps and key technologies used?

  1. Analyzing AI education-related literature to identify three core educational goals:
     • Understanding and distinguishing AI;
     • Imagining future AI;
     • Understanding the positive and negative impacts of AI.
  2. Designing four artistic exhibits through five collaborative workshops, ensuring the exhibits meet four design criteria: interactivity, abstract expression, mixed perspectives, and narrative design.
  3. Hosting a 7-day exhibition, accompanied by pre- and post-event surveys and guided interviews to assess changes in participants' critical thinking.

Research Outcomes

• What specific outcomes were achieved?

  1. The exhibition helped participants connect AI technologies with their personal life experiences, prompting reflections on privacy, ethics, and personal data handling.
  2. Adolescents expanded their understanding of AI from narrow functionalities like personal assistants to broader societal and future impacts.
  3. Participants were encouraged to actively discuss the positive and negative applications of AI and set their own standards for ethical AI in the future.

• What advantages does it have compared to existing solutions?

  • The flexibility of informal learning environments (such as exhibitions) allows for richer interactions, surpassing the knowledge transmission model of classroom education.
  • Combining exhibition design with adolescents' daily life contexts enhances immersion and the possibility of diverse discussions.

• What were the experimental or evaluation results?

  1. Surveys revealed significant improvements in participants' understanding of AI experiences and ethical issues after the exhibition.
  2. Interview data analysis showed that participants were able to view AI's dual nature more critically and propose their own interpretations and ethical standards for AI.

• Limitations and Future Directions

  1. The study's sample size was relatively small, with only 23 adolescents recruited, necessitating a larger sample to examine the broader applicability of the results.
  2. Exhibitions, as short-term learning experiences, are limited in fully cultivating critical thinking skills and should be complemented by long-term learning projects or everyday support mechanisms.
  3. Future research could explore how to leverage social media platforms in other informal learning environments to extend the educational impact of such initiatives.