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Boston Mayor Michelle Wu discussed the city's artificial intelligence literacy effort in an October 1 WBUR interview, describing an initiative intended to help students understand both the technology's uses and its pitfalls.
The interview follows a public-school program launched in March and an educator-ambassador cohort announced earlier this school year. The city says the initiative brings together Boston Public Schools, UMass Boston and private partners.
Technology entrepreneur and Boston Public Schools graduate Paul English seeded the effort with a $1 million gift, according to the city's launch materials. The partnership includes support for educator training and classroom work.
The city says ambassadors will meet monthly through June while testing classroom projects and developing lessons intended to become open-source curriculum. It is also developing AI literacy and fluency benchmarks for grades seven through 12.
Those benchmarks are meant to assess what students understand, rather than simply count participating classrooms. The city describes a district-wide student presentation and hackathon next June as part of the school-year plan.
WBUR framed Wu's discussion around embracing innovation while considering possible effects on employment and public safety. Its short account of the interview identifies AI fluency among high school seniors as a focus.
The city materials describe a program being developed and expanded. Its stated goals do not yet establish that every student has completed an AI course or that the initiative has produced measured learning gains.
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