NDIA contracted with MassHire Metro North Workforce Board, the organization that leads the Digital JEDI Consortium in Massachusetts on training and support for their digital navigator program. In thinking through the topic of our last professional development training together, one topic kept coming up again and again: artificial intelligence. However, it quickly became apparent that people wanted not just some basic knowledge about AI – i.e., what do we mean by “artificial intelligence,” and what are some common AI tools that people can use – but also guidance on how to approach the field as digital inclusion practitioners.
I was privileged to be given a lot of freedom by the MassHire team to explore some big questions. How do we talk about bias and misinformation in AI systems? How do we equip our community with sufficient knowledge to decide how and whether to engage with AI tools? How do we talk about how AI is being both used by and on our communities? I wanted to share a couple of themes that surfaced from the research, development, and delivery of the AI training:
They came up with at least two reasons learning more about AI is important:
- Understanding how something is made opens up deeper discussions on its impacts
- Practitioners are hungry for conversations about the impacts of AI on individuals and society
The article links to many resources of potential interest.