In this undated photo, Richie Hull, a lead instructor at the Connecticut-based group CfAL for Digital Inclusion, teaches participates at the Ives Maine Library in New Haven, Conn. how to take a computer apart and put it back together again. Connecticut is working on a new online academy to teach citizens about how to use generative artificial intelligence, but groups like CfAL say basic computer skills are also needed.
Connecticut is working to create what proponents believe will be the country’s first Citizens AI Academy, a free online repository of curated classes that users can take to learn basic skills or obtain a certificate needed for employment. “What we need is to lean into things that complement AI as opposed to learning to be really bad imitators of AI,” he said. “We need to figure out what is AI not good at and then teach those things. And those things are generally things like creativity, empathy, high level problem solving.”
One bill in California would require a state working group to consider incorporating AI literacy skills into math, science, history and social science curriculums. He said it’s important for people to have the skills to understand, evaluate and effectively interact with AI technologies, whether it’s a chatbot or machines that learn to identify problems and make decisions that mimic human decision-making.
Maroney said he is concerned how that skills gap — coupled with a lack of access to high-speed internet, computers and smart phones in some underserved communities — will exacerbate the inequity problem.