When we think about the future, we think of flying cars, cities on the moon, robots to take care of household chores and virtual assistants who manage everything for us. This shows the importance of AI in our lives. We all want a Jarvis after all, don’t we? To achieve this we need to understand the advantages of AI for children, how AI can be used in education and the importance of AI in today’s world.
While these realities seemed distant at one point in time, they are now closer than ever. All credit for this goes to futuristic concepts like AI, robotics, programming and ML which has provided the technology industry with unlimited scope to expand. The possibilities truly are limitless.
To prepare for a future like that, where machines listen, talk, act and more importantly understand the things around them, it is important to get familiar with AI concepts. Let’s begin with a basic intro to these.
Future Technologies
Many concepts fit into the category of future technologies. While robotics and programming are well-established industries, AI, IoT and automation are catching up quickly. However, the most crucial of them all is AI.
Artificial Intelligence is essentially the logical intelligence displayed by machines such as computers and robots. It is the most futuristic technology available to mankind in the present. The AI & robotics industry has a huge scope of creating a great impact on humanity and changing the world altogether. For this very reason, it is extremely important to understand how AI can be used in education.
We are all aware of our dependence on such technologies, emphasising the importance of AI in today’s world. It can be agreed upon that they are going to be indispensable in the future as the advantages of AI and machine learning are simply huge. Considering this reality, we need to equip children with adequate knowledge and skills that will help them thrive in a world of AI.
Let us now go over the advantages of AI being taught to children and how exactly such concepts benefit them.
Advantages of Learning AI for Kids
Children have excess energy in them, which can be put to good use by guiding them in a positive direction. One such way is to teach them new concepts and new ideas; things that will help them excel in life but they can still learn in a fun-filled hands-on manner. An example of this is the magical world of AI for children, where anything and everything is possible, for example – self-driving cars.
Here are a few ways in which learning about AI can be beneficial for children –
Develop An Interest In STEM
The STEM industry has completely revolutionised the way the world functions in the past couple of decades. Everything is now easier, faster and a lot more efficient than it ever was. All credit goes to STEM!
Engineering, medical and research methodologies have advanced a lot to provide scope for unlimited development. Not just adults but even children find themselves drawn to such new concepts out of curiosity and the endless opportunities in such fields.
There are so many children we hear about who made their own apps, helped tech giants catch a glitch in their system or just developed some software to solve a problem. Such instances prove that there is no age limit when it comes to this industry. Everyone is welcome; the only prerequisite is interest.
Introducing AI to children at a young age helps them develop an aptitude for STEM which helps them become open-minded curious adults who are always on the brink of innovation. Their inventions might just change the world someday.
Introduce your kids to concepts like AI, robotics, programming and IoT with our carefully curated courses for younger age groups. To know more about them check out the offered AI courses on our website. For a more hands-on approach, we strongly suggest you check out the Quarky AI kit coming soon and sign up today!
Get Exposed to Future Technologies
We have already established the impact that these technologies are going to have on the future taking into consideration the importance of AI in today’s world. To flourish in a future where everything is automated, machines can understand and robots become as common as cars, it is essential to understand these concepts in detail.
Children are the future of the world and they will see the world we imagine for real. For this very reason, exposure to future technologies is something every child should experience. The basics of AI, IoT, robotics and programming should be common knowledge and not something restricted to the privileged class. AI for kids should be for all irrespective of their socio-economic background.
Teaching students about AI and other technologies, which can be applied practically, is essential. Hands-on experience will help them develop their skills and provide clarity to the theoretical concepts. Exposure to these revolutionary technologies will prepare them to survive and excel in a world ruled by computers and machines. The importance of artificial intelligence in education is evident. For this very reason, it is essential to let them explore these concepts with the help of AI kits like Quarky, which is releasing soon!
Boost Your Mental Capabilities
AI, programming, IoT and robotics do not have pre-defined boundaries which can hold beginners in place. Instead, these technologies give free rein to one and all who take a step towards exploring them. The truly limitless possibilities that are available in these fields allow everyone to constantly innovate and develop their mental capabilities.
The same holds true for children. Young students often find the freedom offered to them by these concepts exhilarating and attractive. It allows them to let their imaginations run free and revel in their creativity fueled by curiosity. This is one of the greatest benefits of AI. Unlike most other fields, AI does not bind them to definite ideologies. Exposure to AI and related technologies allow children to develop problem-solving skills and logical analysis & aptitude at a very young age which helps them reach their full potential, clearly highlighting the importance of AI in education.
Apart from intellectual benefits, AI can also provide emotional health benefits to children. As part of a research project, patients at a children’s hospital spent time with an AI-enabled robot, made especially for them. The observations showed a 26% increase in joyfulness and a 34% decrease in the stress levels of children.
Get Familiar with Big Data
Almost every professional field can merge with the big data industry. Every type of work generates some kind of data that needs to be processed, analyzed and interpreted to get some information. Whether it’s healthcare, research, stock markets or even the education sector and service institutions, the role of big data technologies and the importance of AI in today’s world are unquestionable.
Kids can be eased into challenging concepts like big data analysis by starting off with more engaging topics like AI. AI education’s impact on children is perfect to help them develop an interest in more specific industrial technologies like big data.
Accelerate Your Holistic Development
Learning robotics, programming and AI for kids is no easy feat. The freedom offered to students by these subjects is boundless which gives them scope for creativity but also makes it difficult to get a grasp of the concepts initially. The fact that these subjects are fun to play around and experiment with, is what keeps the kids going! It also makes it essential for educators to understand how AI can be used in education effectively.
Sticking with these concepts long enough to figure them out not only allows children to develop intellectually but also gives rise to holistic development. It teaches them patience, persistence and the importance of thinking outside the box to solve problems. Working on AI group projects helps them realize the significance of teamwork and why hard work is the key to success.
Make Contributions to Society
Getting acquainted with advanced technological concepts like AI, IoT, automation, robotics and programming at a young age helps children to understand the functioning of the world around them at a deeper and more profound level. They start understanding the kinds of problems faced on a day-to-day basis and look for solutions because it’s not just challenging, it is also very exciting.
Teaching kids about these concepts helps them give back to society not necessarily as adults but even as kids. Developing prototypes of better health systems, apps to make booking slots for vaccination easier, AI governance portals offering more transparency, etc., are all examples of how society benefits from these technologies. Children are often the ones who come up with such innovative ideas and reap the benefits of AI. Let your child explore these concepts in a hands-on manner using AI kits like Quarky! It is releasing very soon but you can sign up today!
Gain Better Career Opportunities
Acquiring AI skills and sufficient knowledge can help children find better career opportunities in the future. These concepts have merged with every other industry out there to provide hybrid working conditions. Learning about AI and related technologies can help children adapt to such advanced work environments later on in life. Undoubtedly, being familiar with such essential skills and exhibiting confidence in new working environments will help them get better professional opportunities than their counterparts.
An example of this can be seen in the benefits of AI reaped by those who complete online courses from platforms like Coursera, edX and STEMpedia. The ‘AI for Everyone’ course on Coursera saw 28% of learners start a new career path, 26% of learners reap a tangible benefit and 12% of learners get an increase in pay or a promotion.
We can clearly see the importance of artificial intelligence in education by assessing the future opportunities that will open up and the wonders that can be worked by AI for children. For this reason, we organised an AI Bootcamp for educators so they can help students achieve their full potential by learning about the latest skills and knowledge of these concepts.
Open for all educators from across the world, we were able to train 700+ educators through this free program. The participants got access to free classroom resources, certificates and learnt about AI concepts like Face Detection, Object Detection, Machine Learning and Natural Language Processing. In case you missed out, here is a compiled playlist of the 5-day webinar series!
To help your child gain AI skills, which are in huge demand, from home, check out our wide range of STEM products that can kickstart their tinkering experience.
In a Nutshell
The AI industry is revolutionizing the world one code at a time. Robotics, automation and programming have become an essential part of our everyday lives. We cannot imagine living without virtual assistants, apps and mechanised industries which provide us with everything we need to survive and thrive. The advantages of AI for children and the importance of AI in today’s world is indisputable.
The impact of these technologies in the present only emphasizes the importance they are going to have in the future. To prepare our children for a technologically advanced world it is vital that we introduce them to AI and related concepts at an early age so they can evolve along with these technologies. Check out the Quarky AI kits coming soon and sign up today!
