Google’s new ‘AI Quests’ teaches AI literacy through immersive adventures

As artificial intelligence becomes more and more integrated into our daily lives, teaching the next generation how it works and how it can be used for good has never been more important. To that end, Google has just launched a fantastic new educational program called AI Quests, designed to teach AI literacy to students aged 11 to 14 through a series of fun, immersive adventures.

Created by Google Research in collaboration with the Stanford Accelerator for Learning, AI Quests invites students to step into the shoes of Google researchers and apply AI to solve real-world challenges.

Learning AI through adventure

Instead of a dry textbook or lecture, AI Quests teaches the fundamentals of AI through a series of game-like adventures. The first quest, which is live today, is set in a fantasy world but is inspired by Google’s real-world Flood Forecasting research.

In the game, students are guided by their in-game mentor, Professor Skye, as they learn how AI can help predict floods and give communities timely warnings. They have to collect relevant data sources like rainfall and river flow, evaluate the quality of that data, and then train and test their own AI model to help the game’s characters anticipate the next flood. It’s a brilliant, hands-on way to teach students how AI models are built and how factors like data quality and human judgment can shape their impact.

More real-world quests are on the way

Two more quests are set to launch in the coming months, both also inspired by real Google Research projects. One will be based on an AI model that can detect diabetic retinopathy, a condition that can lead to blindness, and the other will be inspired by Google’s Connectomics research to map the human brain. At the end of each quest, students even get to see a recorded video message from the real Google researchers behind the work.

This is a fantastic and thoughtful new initiative from Google that aims to demystify AI and inspire the next generation of researchers and creators. AI Quests is open and available to all educators and organizations and comes with complete lesson plans and teacher guides. It’s a great new resource for the classroom and a fun way for any young learner to get a handle on the future of technology.