Duration: 1.3.2021-28.2.2023

Project management: Andreas Koth (Internationaler Bund)

Sub-project management: Prof. Dr. Anke Langner, Educational Sciences with a focus on Inclusive Education

Project processing: Tobias Petruschke (M.A.), Ralf Christoph (M.A.)

Project partners:

• Internationaler Bund - IB Mitte gGmbH for Education and Social Services Saxony Branch Office
• Best Institute for Job-Related Further Education and Personal Training GMBH (Austria)
• Profesionalas izglitibas kompetences centrs "Daugavpils tehnikums" (Latvia)
• CEIP "Félix Cuadrado Lomas" (Spain)

Funding: Funded by the European Union

© European Commission (European Union)

In just three years, as many as 28 billion (digital) devices will be networked worldwide, according to a study of the American network equipment supplier Cisco. Artificial Intelligence (AI), one mega trend of the future within digitisation, is a very advanced element of it. Thanks to built-in algorithms, machines can recognise certain patterns, for example when software "understands" a German sentence and translates it into English. On computers, algorithms filter search results, recommend songs, books and shampoos and block unwanted mail. On the smartphone and tablet, programs wait for voice commands and also register every conversation and change of location very carefully. These are examples from everyday life - but also much larger AI dimensions are reality already. While reports on Wall Street or the German Stock Exchange show nervous stock traders in front of screens, in reality it is algorithms that determine the majority of trading today. Even more uncanny is the development in e.g. China, where a "social credit rating system" collects every click on the net and every time a person crosses a red light in order to sanction or reward the individual afterwards (e.g. with cheaper loans or a block on long-distance travel tickets). And this approach is spreading over to other countries (like Venezuela, Korea ...) due to their business contacts. It is unquestionably digital skills and critical thinking that are among the 21st Century Skills (OECD, EU) that have to be better implemented in school curricula and education within a holistic approach, first to set up a new mind set with educators - critical thinking and ethical principles must be implemented together with digital skills - and secondly to better address the increasing pace of change in work and social life. Certainly, it is difficult "preparing students for jobs and technologies that don’t yet exis, in order to solve problems that we don’t even know are problems yet”, but this should be today’s main task of schools even more than in the past and educators need to be informed and prepared, learners taught accordingly. However, schools in general also need to learn more about business realities and find didactic answers to policy makers‘ guidelines or any lack of them (e.g . "Ethics Guidelines for Trustworthy AI" should be part of ethics classes , as well as more business cases and experimental learning), particularly in countries that do not (yet) belong to AI hot spots, like Austria, Latvia or Spain, partnering in this project with Germany. The ArtIn Future project wants to address these issues by developing, testing and then providing three innovative major outputs to upper primary, secondary and VET schools, teachers and their pupils:

• ArtIn Future - Ethics in Artificial Intelligence – training material to "clean up" with AI myths, show AI differences and ethical principles and empower critical thinking;
• ArtIn Future Digital skills – an experiential training course to develop digital skills for educators working particularly with young (adult) learners exploring "weak" AI (like algorithms that already today read patterns from data sets that humans could never recognise);
• ArtIn Future - AI in the Business world, a OER HUB presenting AI show cases from companies, products designed applying AI, success stories of (female) entrepreneurs in this field to help better understand how companies use AI and which competences are needed to perform these tasks.

These intellectual outcomes will be supported by a variety of management related products and a series of multiplier events during the ArtIn Future Show Case month towards the end of the project implementation. This "roadshow" style of promotion event shall reach at least 110 potential multipliers and mainstreaming participants. The project will directly involve 125 educators - coming from secondary to higher vocational education levels - and 250 of their learners in Germany, Austria, Latvia and Spain and will reach by its foreseen further dissemination activities (like online representation and information) min. 6000 people accross Europe.

The partner organisations, schools and vocational education providers are confident to increase knowledge on Artificial Intelligence, and above all, raise awareness about ethics in this type of knowledge/ business area and in the use of different digital tools, particularly true for girls/ young women.