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What is Artificial Intelligence?
What is Artificial Intelligence?
Lesson Overview
Lesson Overview
This lesson introduces children (ages 5–7) to Artificial Intelligence by teaching the difference between natural and artificial items. Through hands-on activities like sorting objects and designing their own AI robot, students learn how machines use sensors like cameras and microphones in a way that is similar to human senses. The lesson concludes with reflection questions and an optional family activity to reinforce these foundational, age-appropriate concepts.
Time Needed: 60-90 minutes total
Lesson Objectives
Lesson Objectives
Students will:
Recognize the difference between things made by people (artificial) and things found in nature.
Understand that artificial intelligence (AI) is when people make machines act smartly.
Identify the five senses and see how they help us learn about the world.
Connect the idea of our senses to the sensors that help machines “see” and “hear.”
Engage in an interactive game to sort items as artificial or natural.
Practice explaining simple ideas about how machines use instructions to do jobs.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology bases this material on Day of AI™. This and all materials derived from it are subject to the Creative Commons License International 4.0 (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) and the terms and conditions stipulated by MIT at https://www.dayofai.org/privacy-and-terms-of-use (“The License”).
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