Lesson Plan - AI Made Four of These. Can You Guess Which Ones?

Assess Knowledge

Tell students that artificial intelligence is a type of technology that lets machines do things that normally need a human’s ability to think or learn. Then assign the Skill Builder Charting Your Knowledge from the Graphic Organizer Library at junior.scholastic.com/library. Have students complete the first two columns of the KWL chart with what they know about artificial intelligence and what they want to know. Then have students take the five-question Prereading Quiz at junior.scholastic.com. 

Preview Vocabulary

Use the online Skill Builder Words to Know to preteach domain-specific terms from the article. Have students refer to the Skill Builder as they read.

Read the Article

Read the article aloud or have students read it independently or in pairs. Have students complete the last column of Charting Your Knowledge as they read.

Answer Close-Reading Questions

Have students write their responses, or use the Close-Reading Questions to guide a discussion.

• What are chatbots? How are they taking artificial intelligence (AI) “to a whole new level”? (Central Ideas)
Chatbots are computer programs designed to mimic human conversation. Many of them use artificial intelligence. ChatGPT is the most advanced one available to the public. It is much more sophisticated than basic virtual assistants like Siri and Alexa. ChatGPT can have long conversations, explain its reasoning, and respond to feedback. One tech executive said that ChatGPT shows us “a glimmer of how everything is going to be different going forward.”

• What are some of the problems AI might be able to solve? (Problem and Solution)
AI might help people by doing basic tasks they don’t want to do, like comparing prices while online shopping. It also might solve more significant problems, such as diagnosing medical issues and finding new treatments. For example, AI recently helped someone communicate after a stroke by having a digital avatar speak words that were translated from her brain signals. AI can also help people with vision loss by describing photos aloud or even suggesting recipes based on a photo of their fridge contents. The technology might also be able to act like a personal tutor and help students with their schoolwork.

• How might new AI tools affect people’s jobs? (Cause and Effect)
Currently, the new tools aren’t reliable enough to take over people’s jobs. The chatbots sometimes repeat errors or come up with statements that are false or offensive. However, AI can help people do their jobs. Research found that coders who used an AI tool were able to finish tasks 56 percent faster than those who didn’t use the tool. Experts do think AI systems will replace some human workers in the future, with one estimate predicting that 12 million people may need to change jobs by 2030. People who have jobs that require repetitive tasks like helping customers or calling people to try to sell them things will probably be affected first. We don’t yet know whether such automation will create new jobs, as it usually has in the past.

• What does ChatGPT say are some of its limitations? (Key Details)
ChatGPT explained four of its limitations and constraints in its conversation with JS. First, it doesn’t have “personal experience, emotions, or consciousness.” It also doesn’t know about anything that has happened since September 2021. Additionally, it can only respond to the prompts it is given based on its training; it can’t come up with its own original ideas. Last, ChatGPT said that it can’t make decisions for the people who use it.

• How does the sidebar “Tech Over Time” support the article? (Text Features)
The sidebar supports the article by describing six other technology breakthroughs that have changed the world and raised concerns. Back in the 1450s, the printing press enabled books and other printed materials to be widely shared, but scholars worried that people wouldn’t be able to handle all that knowledge. The telephone, radio, and TV all changed how people communicate and consume information, although people worried about privacy and whether the new technologies would replace other activities. Toward the end of the 20th century, computers and the internet changed people’s daily lives despite concerns about privacy, automation, electronic attacks, and misinformation.

• Summarize the section “Regulating AI.” (Summarizing)
The most serious concern about AI now is that it could be misused. Experts worry that it could produce misinformation that might influence voters in the 2024 presidential election. Seven large tech companies have said that they’ll follow safety rules, such as labeling content created by AI. Congress has started having discussions about regulations but hasn’t taken action yet. Even the people creating new AI technologies don’t know what will happen next.

• How do the explanations in “Did You Spot AI’s Creations?” help you understand what AI systems can and can’t do? Did any of them surprise you? (Integrating Information)
Sample response: The explanations help me understand that AI can quickly create images but the people using it often have to spend a lot of time refining their prompts. They also show how AI can’t predict events in the future and struggles to reproduce hands and eyes like the famous ones in the Mona Lisa. I was surprised that it took so many searches to get the octopus and Mars images.

Watch a Video

As students watch “What You Need to Know About AI,” have them take notes about ways that AI could change the world. Then have students use Think-Pair-Share to discuss the video’s concluding questions: What problems could AI help people solve? What problems could AI cause?

Write Arguments

Have students use the Argument Writing Toolkit to help them complete the “Your Turn” activity on page 14. Encourage students to have a teacher, parent, or guardian submit their essays to our AI Essay Contest. Find details, the entry form, and rules at junior.scholastic.com/contests. Entries must be submitted by December 13, 2023.

Assess Comprehension

Assign the 10-question Know the News quiz, available in PDF and interactive forms. You can also use Quiz Wizard to assess comprehension of this article and three others from the issue.