Finnish 5th and 6th grade students’ pre-instructional conceptions of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and their implications for AI literacy education

Abstract

There is a common agreement that teaching children about AI should be an integral part of contemporary education. However, not much is known about children’s pre-instructional conceptions of AI, which means that the design of relevant curricula has less than solid footing. The present paper contributes to filling this gap in knowledge by reporting the findings of a qualitative survey study that investigated 195 Finnish 5th and 6th grade students’ conceptions of 1) AI as a technology, 2) where AI is used, and 3) why AI is used. The students conceptualized AI in varying forms, such as robots, devices with sensors, and voice assistants, which, in terms of level of concreteness, varied from high (e.g., sensory technology) to low (e.g., dangerous technology). AI was conceptualized as situated in a variety of locales between home and work environments and everyday and non-everyday contexts, and even ubiquitously. Third, ranging between micro (everyday life) and macro (global policies) levels, AI was perceived as making things easier, providing efficiency, and gaining power over others. Pedagogical implications are discussed.