What is AI literacy? And why is it important?
Let’s start with the second one first. The reason that AI literacy is critical is that AI is the new immersive technology.
First we had actual literacy, “literacy 1.0,” that distinguished the power elites of the first millennium (and first half of the second millennium) from the common folk. Literacy was power! Then, very recently in the grand scheme of things, we had computer literacy: the “haves” knowing how to, say, operate Microsoft Excel.
Now, suddenly, we have the need for AI literacy, the same kinds of gaps in power that arise with any literacy movement, where first movers will gain exceptional power, and everyone else will be, to an extent, left behind.
So then, what is AI literacy? It’s a good question, because, unlike “literacy 1.0,” the answer is pretty complex.
The test of the initial type of literacy was simply: Can you read? Or, how well can you read? There are about 50 symbols, give or take, on a page. It’s measurable – and we do measure it, for every child, everywhere in the country.
AI literacy, on the other hand…
I came across this definition by Matt Crabtree at Data Camp. He describes AI literacy in detail, but includes this:
“It’s about viewing these technologies critically, understanding their context, and questioning their design and implementation. It’s also about being able to discern the benefits and challenges of AI while making informed decisions about its use.”
So at its core, it’s more about manipulating reality with technologies than it is about memorizing word spelling or sounding out phonetics. It’s just a different animal.
Here’s more from a recent presentation by Chis McKay at IIA, who started out with a call to action and a cautionary example of siloed knowledge.
“The most important thing that we can do as individuals, as businesses, and as a society, in my opinion, is to invest in AI literacy,” McKay said. “You see, history is full of examples where ignorance has led to downfall. In fact, if you think of the last few years that we’ve been through, during the COVID pandemic, we lived and saw firsthand what the lack of health literacy did for a lot of our communities. We can’t make that mistake again.”
Later, he narrated a key moment in AI adoption, just recently, in a way that I think tells us a lot about what has been going on:
“I looked to my social feed, and it was crazy, right? You had people that were hyping AI promising a new techno-utopia, you had people that were saying it was going to lead to the end of the world, and others that were saying it was just a fad, right? There were loud voices on both ends, you know, P Doom 99.99%. But I also looked at our legislatures and our leaders, and I saw people that were out of their depths – I looked at our educators and our teachers, and I really wondered if they were at risk of getting left behind. I looked at other business owners, and I saw that a lot of them had a lot of the same questions that I did.”
So, ultimately, McKay created a platform, imaginator.com, to delve into AI.
“I come to you with a unique perspective,” he said. “Not only am I covering the AI space, so I’m fully aware of where the technology is, where it’s going. But I’m also working with companies that are applying it in their businesses and in consumer products. And what is AI literacy? AI literacy is being able to understand to evaluate and to make informed decisions about AI.”
He made this critical distinction:
“I’m not saying you need to go out and get a PhD in this stuff. You don’t need to know the latest rack optimization techniques. But you do need to know how to use it.”
AI literacy, he suggested, will come with a range of pretty important social benefits, especially if it is broadly applied.
“It will allow us to ask better questions,” he said. “Ai literacy means that we can have deeper conversations, but also include more voices in the conversation. AI is something that needs to be decided and discussed by as many voices as possible. And ensuring that we can bring more people to the table will be critical. But most importantly, it will allow us to develop effective oversight, better regulation and governance, and ultimately, hopefully, leverage this technology to improve our everyday lives.”
Relating all of this to business, he talked about strategy, and recommended a book: Life 3.0 by Max Tegmark. I have written about Max’s work, too, so this was a good reference, in my opinion.
Here are a couple of other assertions he made: “application is going to be key,” and “continuous learning is non-negotiable.” I like those.
So think about it, as you move further into the AI space. How do we increase this new kind of literacy? What programs and interventions are going to work?
