Staying on top of artificial intelligence trends isn’t easy. Believe me, I’m trying myself by taking online courses related to journalism, listening to podcasts like AI Explored, and constantly playing around with ChatGPT, Claude, and other AI engines.
A group of local high students, with support from family and other adults (School Committee member Craig Mack is listed as an advisor), is making sure that they and their peers locally and worldwide aren’t left behind on this breakthrough technology.
Wellesley High School rising senior Tanuj Barman has shared with us the efforts by himself and classmates Lucas Kim and Chloe Kim through a non-profit they started called Next Gen Kids (aka, nextgenkids.ai). They’re teaching courses in person through the YMCA in Greater Boston and online to students in India.
Barman says the focus is on getting students excited about AI and its real-life applications.
The student acknowledges that AI can be used to cheat in school. Wellesley High School even has added a warning under the Academic Integrity section of its student handbook that reads: “Students may not use an artificial intelligence program to aid their work on an assignment unless explicitly directed to do so by their instructor.”
But Barman says AI has many legitimate applications that can help students. For example, the technology can be used to help create flash cards for studying, something Barman has done for his French class to learn words and definitions.
“While seemingly complex, AI is in reality just math and algorithms. AI is not only something high school students can understand, but also something they can use to make their lives easier. To me, learning about AI and how to use it is similar to skills such as reading. A person can live, but not thrive, without it,” he says.
The student says that kids he works with tend to be interested in how they can use AI in video games, such as for creating non-player characters (NPCs). Adults are more interested in using AI to make their jobs and lives easier. “In general, people don’t care about every possible use for AI, just the ones that are most applicable to their own lives,” he says.
While in middle school, Barman said he found a passion for teaching others about computer science and math. One summer, for example, he led a 6-week coding course at Wellesley Free Library for elementary and middle school kids. Barman’s interest in these topics also spans into taking part in math competitions.
Through Next Gen Kids, Barman and teammates have created Youtube videos available to students and the public on a variety of AI-related topics.
This summer the group is teaching courses online for a school in India, and Barman and his father, Manajit, are creating an AI-powered app for various uses, such as reading text in an image or answering questions about a database. One thing about AI that fascinates Barman is that it is so good at understanding intent, even if asked a question in a couple of different ways.
The student’s biggest concern with AI is how it will affect the workplace. “Mainly, its ability to replace humans in the workforce. While this topic is still hotly debated, it seems almost certain that quite a few workers will be replaced by AI, thus increasing unemployment.”
When school starts up later this month, hopefully such weighty issues won’t preoccupy Barman and Class of ’25 friends as they explore AI and take part in other activities during their senior year.
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