Exploratory session: AI Literacy & Basic digital skills training

On July 19th, we hosted the second episode of our Digital Inclusion event series: Back to Basics. As Artificial Intelligence  keeps on developing, both students and digital skills trainers need to gain AI Literacy to ensure sustainable social and economic inclusion. The AI revolution brings many questions which need to be explored: How to keep up with the knowledge to operate AI systems? How to ensure equity and inclusion in the use of AI? How do we use AI ethically? We hosted this Exploratory Session to cover this growing need, following a collaborative approach and a learning-to-learn concept. We invited our Community members who are trainers working in adult education, to share their perspectives as trainers and be the voice of their students on this topic, for DigiCo to understand the best and most comprehensive ways to approach AI literacy training.

Léa Ichikawa, Program Manager at DigiCo, moderated the entire session and started by asking our participants representing six different countries to rank their AI Literacy level: “As a trainer, are you AI literate?”. These were the given answers in percentages:

• 0%: Not at all
• 45,5%: I have some basic knowledge
• 45,5%: I am, but I can always learn more
• 9%: I feel confident about my AI literacy

After measuring the participants’ current level of AI Literacy, we dived into specific questions through a co-created approach. Using digital sticky notes first and discussing shared points for further explanation and exemplification, Léa Ichikawa asked participants about their concrete needs to be more AI literate. Defining AI and its ethical considerations, a repository of AI tools and concrete applications were some of the provided answers. When asked about the methodologies and formats trainers were currently using to teach AI in their basic digital skills training, using ChatGPT was a recurrent answer. 

The third question, “What are the barriers and opportunities you see in teaching AI literacy?”, identified lack of background knowledge and skills as the main barrier and using AI to improve work and training dynamics as one of the main opportunities. AI has great potential to help low-skilled people in terms of accessibility, and it can also be used as a motivator when combined with creativity. The last question of the session had a holistic and collective approach: “If you were to create the ideal AI literacy program, what would it include?”. AI ethics, practical uses, how to write good prompts and explaining AI concepts in simple language were some of the thoughts our participants shared with us. 

With the insights gathered from this exploratory session, DigiCo will design a co-created approach that includes both trainers’ and trainees’ perspectives regarding AI Literacy and basic digital skills training. For the questions that remained unanswered during the workshop, we will develop a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) document with experts to further understand how to address the challenges of AI fluency for both basic digital skills trainers and learners. Ultimately, educators and trainers with AI literacy skills will be prepared to address upcoming AI challenges with confidence.