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Check the Claim: Did a school make an AI robot its principal?

SKILL: Check the Claim

DIFFICULTY: Simple

SUBJECT(S): Science, AI

Students will use a keyword search to learn that a British school is utilizing an AI chatbot to aid the human headmaster with his duties.

Related Lesson

CTRL-F Lesson 3: Check the Claim

Link to Example

AI school principal (Brobible)

Background

A chatbot is a program that simulates human conversation. Modern chatbots equipped with AI can use conversational AI techniques like natural language processing (NLP) to understand and respond to questions.

A stock photo is a generic photo that can be used, usually for a fee, in marketing materials, websites, articles and more.



About the Example

A headline from a site called Brobible claims, “School In United Kingdom Has Appointed An AI Robot As Principal.” The article includes a photograph of what appears to be a robot.

AI technology has been developing at lightspeed, but an AI principal?!  Let’s do a quick keyword search to check if any reliable sources have reported on this story.

By searching keywords “AI school principal UK ” we find The Telegraph, a British newspaper, has reported on this story. Clicking in we find that a UK school is using a chatbot named “Abigail Bailey” to support the school’s headmaster regarding various school policies.

In conclusion, while this school’s AI chatbot is nominally “principal headteacher,” it only just a support tool and will not be replacing the human headmaster. Additionally, the robot image accompanying the Brobible coverage is a stock photo and not a depiction of the chatbot.



Activities 

  1. Show students the Brobible headline and ask them to summarize the claim,
  2. Ask student to use a keyword search to see if reliable sources have reported on this story.
  3. Have students click The Telegraph’s coverage. Guiding questions:
    • Is the claim mostly true, mostly false or something else? Explain your answer.
    • What additional context did you learn from The Telegraph’s coverage of the story?
    • When we encounter a claim from a low quality source, why is it important to use a keyword search to see if reliable sources of information have reported on a story?


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