AI to Become Mandatory in California School Curriculums!

  • Editor
  • October 4, 2024
    Updated
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Key Takeaways:

  • California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed multiple AI-related bills into law, including AB 2876, which integrates AI literacy into the K-12 curriculum.
  • The law aims to prepare students with essential AI skills, ensuring they understand its applications, ethical implications, and limitations.
  • The law will update math, science, and history curricula, with textbooks and teaching materials being revised to include AI literacy.
  • California, home to many of the world’s leading AI developers, continues to lead the discussion on managing and integrating AI responsibly.

Among at least 17 artificial intelligence-related bills signed by Governor Gavin Newsom recently is a bill that will integrate AI literacy into the K-12 curriculum throughout the state.

“AB 2876 responds to the rapid proliferation of AI in nearly every aspect of young people’s lives, as well as the impact AI will have on their futures,” said state Assemblymember Marc Berman, the bill’s author.

Berman represents parts of the Peninsula and South Bay and has advocated for including AI literacy in education.

The state’s Instructional Quality Commission will revise math, science, and history-social science curricula to incorporate AI literacy. This update will ensure that AI literacy is key when reviewing textbooks and teaching materials.

The curriculum will cover AI’s core concepts, applications, limitations, ethical issues, and real-world impacts.

California has consistently been at the forefront of discussions on managing and regulating the rapidly advancing AI technology. The state is home to over half of the world’s 50 leading AI developers, with many based in Silicon Valley.

Berman believes that this new law, which takes effect next year, will equip California students with the necessary skills and knowledge to become safe, ethical, and successful users of AI as it becomes more mainstream.

The bill passed unanimously in both the state Assembly and Senate earlier this year. The California Chamber of Commerce (CalChamber), a co-sponsor of the bill, worked closely with Berman.

According to CalChamber, the aim is to ensure children are equipped with the foundational knowledge and skills needed to succeed as consumers, voters, and workers in a technology-driven world.

AI is becoming increasingly integral to daily life, and generative AI tools have proliferated rapidly. CalChamber believes it’s essential for the state to acknowledge this trend and teach students to harness these tools for their benefit.

Ronak Daylami, a policy advocate with CalChamber, elaborated on the importance of AI literacy, stating, “What we mean by AI literacy is simply the knowledge, skills, and attitudes associated with how artificial intelligence works, including its principles, concepts and applications, as well as how to use artificial intelligence, including its limitations, implications, and ethical considerations.”

This new AI literacy law builds on a previous bill signed by Newsom, AB 876, also sponsored by Berman. AB 876 requires schools to teach media literacy, and Daylami believes that AI literacy will complement existing media literacy requirements without overwhelming students.

“The bill is intended to relieve burdens for students so that they don’t struggle the way some people have struggled with technologies in their lives or workplaces as adults,” she explained.

In addition to AI literacy, Newsom signed several other AI-related bills. These include expanding child pornography laws to cover AI-generated content, requiring AI developers to disclose what data they use to train their systems, and mandating the labeling of political ads or election content altered by AI.

Other new laws focus on protecting individuals’ likenesses from unauthorized use and ensuring AI is employed transparently in healthcare decisions.

However, Newsom vetoed the most ambitious of the proposed AI regulations, SB 1047, which would have required large AI developers to conduct safety testing and include a “kill switch” on products to prevent AI-generated catastrophes or terrorist attacks.

For more news and insights, visit AI News on our website.

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Dave Andre

Editor

Digital marketing enthusiast by day, nature wanderer by dusk. Dave Andre blends two decades of AI and SaaS expertise into impactful strategies for SMEs. His weekends? Lost in books on tech trends and rejuvenating on scenic trails.

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