My Dive Into AI Literacy

What Do You Know About AI?

When it comes to Artificial Intelligence I can say that my knowledge of this area is not very developed. I know that many people are against AI. For the most part, given the reasons many people object to AI, I agree with a healthy wariness. I think AI can too easily be used for malicious intent and even the less malicious intentions it still does not sit right with me. That being said, I do not think it has no place in our society. There are very useful tools that are provided with AI for teachers to use in their classrooms. However, just like with any technological tool you use, I believe it is important that educators fully understand it before they use it in instruction. 

I think about AI sort of like how movies use CGI or Computer-Generated Imagery. If I go to see a film that is all Computer-Generated Imagery I will not enjoy it, there does not seem to be as much heart or emotions put into it (at least in my opinion). I far more enjoy movies that use Computer-Generated Imagery to enhance their scenes, not take them over. I think that AI should be the same, use it to enhance your classrooms not run them. 

AI Literacy

When it comes to AI and art, I am a firm believer that AI art is not art. Often art from artists is taken without their consent and used by AI to generate "art." This is a very disheartening thing because not only is all the dedication and hard work that artists put into their work stolen, but it makes it so companies can decide to no longer employ an artist to create art for them for things like book covers, murals, etc... There have been instances where publishes have been caught using AI art for their book covers. They have been met with much-expected backlash, explaining that it is a slippery slope. It begins in book covers being generated by artificial intelligence and then who is to so say they will stop there? Next, it will be AI turning out books because it means they do not have to pay proper writers and artists to do this work. 

With AI becoming more and more ingrained in our everyday lives, I think it is important to know where it can be useful and where it can do harm. Incorporating AI into your teaching lessons can be helpful, but it is important to know where to draw the line. I think that if you are using AI intentionally in your lessons, this should be conveyed to your students. This will help them identify what AI is and how it is used in their everyday life. It will also teach them where AI should start and where they should pick up. As I mentioned earlier, I am a firm believer that AI art is not art. It should not be used in any teaching instructions or be generally promoted. This is why I took the time to explore AI literacy tools to see how good I was at spotting AI-generated art. Tools like ThisPersonDoesNotExist.com, Which Face Is Real?, You against the machine: Can you spot which image was created by A.I.?, and Real or AI Quiz: Can You Tell the Difference?. These tools test your skills and teach you to tell the differences between real and AI-generated. Sometimes the differences are very obvious and sometimes they are very subtle. Every day AI is getting harder and harder to differentiate from reality. It is important that we educate ourselves, or teachers who have an interest in the arts educate the future generations on how to differentiate between real versus AI-generated art. 

There is a video from the famous Hayao Miyazaki, founder of Studio Ghibli, in which he speaks about AI-generated programming. He focuses on what is missing when AI is used to create art, things like compassion and connection to the human spirit. I think that he succinctly expresses why AI art is to dangerous to our world, because it does not input the same dedication and humanity that artists put into their pieces. 

Image Source: YouTube


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