School pupils learn about potential risks of AI in classroom workshop

School pupils have been learning about the potential risks as well as the benefits of generative AI.

Students from the Royal High School in Edinburgh have taken part in a workshop that highlights the power and potential creativity of the digital tool.

It comes as new laws to better protect children and vulnerable people have been introduced to the UK Parliament.

Engineer Daniel Devine, who led the workshop, works on educational projects for young people for the company ‘Digital Skills Education’.

He told STV News: “AI is something that young people are encountering on a day-to-day basis, whether it is in their messaging apps, whether it’s at school – and it certainly is a skill that will be a useful tool in the workplace.

“Something that I think young people are worried about is misinformation in AI – so we are trying to see if people can tell the difference between something that’s real and something that’s been fabricated by AI.”

There are calls for more people to be aware of the risks of AI for young people.

Dr Mhairi Aitkin is a senior ethics fellow in the Public Policy Programme at The Alan Turing Institute.

Pupils learn about the potential risks and benefits of AI STV News

She said: “There are a particular set of risks around how generative AI can be used to create very convincing personas online.

“These can be used in the grooming of children and young people – for example, if someone is creating a persona that might very convincingly appear to be a child or a person the same age as a user.

“There is a growing concern that this is increasingly being used for online grooming to develop relationships with young people who in fact they are not speaking to another child.”

Last month, world leaders gathered in Paris at a summit to discuss the development of AI and potential restrictions.

Those working in the education sector say knowledge is power when it comes to using AI.

Professor Jen Ross at the School of Education and Sport at the University of Edinburgh said: “It really is incredibly important for young people, for teachers and parents to understand what this technology is – what it can do and what it can’t do.

“That kind of knowledge is part of what makes it possible for people to make good decisions, to look after themselves and look after each other.”