Eric Iversen

Nearly everywhere, still mysterious

Artificial intelligence tools have quickly spread through almost every area of our online lives. From voice-activated smart devices to Netflix recommendations to email spam filters to social media feeds, AI systems are regularly shaping our thoughts and actions, probably beyond what most of us realize or understand. Indeed, a recent Pew survey found over two-thirds of Americans remained largely unaware of how often AI tools show up in their daily lives and how they work.

How well do you understand AI?

Even younger, heavier internet users did not score as highly in the Pew survey as we might expect, given how much attention AI gets in the media and how widely the implementation of AI tools has spread. To test your awareness and understanding of AI, try out the questions below. They come from our recently published student workbook companion to AI & Your Career, our newest career guide published to help high school students understand how to make AI learning and skills serve their future career interests.

True or false?

1. AI systems can learn and improve over time without human intervention.

Answer: True. Through trial and error and pattern-matching, AI systems "learn" in a fairly narrow, but self-governed way that does not require human intervention.

2. AI systems are only as good as the data used to train them.

Answer: True. AI systems are "trained" on data and will produce answers arising from the data they are given. The answers will be accurate or useful in a real-world setting only insofar as the data fed into a system corresponds to or represents actual, lived human experience.

3. AI is capable of understanding and processing human emotions.

Answer: False. For all the complex, powerful computing that goes into AI systems, they remain enormously less sophisticated than the human brain. Making sense of human emotions remains beyond the capacity of current AI systems.

Multiple choice

Choose one or more answers for the questions below:

1. Which of the following is NOT a job of AI?

• Perceiving

• Imagining

• Learning

• Reasoning

Answer: Imagining. The output of an AI system derives entirely from the nature of the data fed into training operations and the algorithms used to crunch that data. AI systems cannot in any real sense "imagine" anything outside the parameters of these information inputs and analytical systems.

2. What is the primary ingredient in all AI systems?

• Data

• Algorithms

• Neural networks

• Sensors

Answer: Data. Kind of a trick question, because algorithms, neural networks, and sensors are also crucial components of AI systems. But data is more of an "ingredient" because it originates entirely outside of an AI system, while the other items are uniquely designed and embedded within an AI system according to the operations that system is intended to execute.

3. Which of the following is an ethical concern related to AI?

• Job displacement

• Data privacy

• Bias

• All of the above

Answer: All of the above (of course!). Privacy issues surrounding AI systems are numerous and complicated, and we will always need to be grappling with them.

AI and the workplace

As we all understand, AI is here to stay. So we need to make the job of recognizing and understanding it a priority. Recognizing and understanding AI is an especially important ability for students and early-career professionals to bring into the workplace, where AI systems are taking root in ways both visible and subtle. For example, AI tools are increasingly used to screen resumes and even assess a job candidate's tone of voice, body language, and words during a live interview. A tool for automatically transcribing and summarizing meeting discussions, AI is also advanced enough to analyze internal communications in emails or chats to look for anything from new product ideas to signs of stress and conflict in the workplace. More straightforward applications of AI serve numerous other workplace interests, like monitoring and managing interior environmental controls, enhancing productivity with analytical and generative AI tools, and performing many rote tasks that would otherwise boringly occupy people.

Learning about AI

To enter and succeed in a workplace so widely and variably shaped by AI tools, students need to be learning what AI is all about and how it works before they graduate and start looking for a job. That's where learning along the lines suggested by the AI questions above can be helpful. As noted, all those questions above about the nature and function of AI come from our newly published AI & Your Career Student Workbook, a companion publication to AI & Your Career, the AI career guide for high school students that we published late last spring.  

How the workbook works

The Student Workbook activates and extends the learning available in the career guide in several ways. True/False and multiple choice questions test students' comprehension of the text itself. Open-ended questions challenge them to research and think further about AI in relation to topics like ethics, bias, privacy, the workforce, and daily life. And a final Next Steps section guides students through approaches to identifying further learning resources in their local school as well as homing in on AI-related educational and career options aligned with their individual preferences and abilities. After completing the workbook exercises, students will have taken a great first step towards making sure AI learning is part of whatever path they follow through post-high school education and into the professional world.

Free copy available

You can get a free copy of the AI & Your Career Student Workbook by filling out the form below. And if you’d like to request a digital review copy of the career guide itself, please let us know. We’re excited about helping educators, parents, and others guiding students towards career plans that account for the challenges and opportunities that AI systems offer.

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Eric Iversen is VP for Learning and Communications at Start Engineering. Comments and feedback are always welcome.

Our goal at Start Engineering is to help make STEM careers imaginable and accessible to kids of all backgrounds and interests. We publish educational and career outreach books in STEM fields like engineering, cybersecurity, and biotechnology, with more topics to come. Check out our newest releases here!

Photo credits: AI everywhere, courtesy of Quick Spice.