Searching and exploring,
When we look at the concepts that I have above, I need to find some ideas of what others have done, or as least explore to see what else is out there.
The CSUnplugged site has information on the Turing test, a good place to start,
This activity explores just how we might recognize whether a system is truly “intelligent”. It involves reasoning about what it means to be intelligent, and even what makes us human
However, does it provide enough information for a student to gather and interpret ideas and make decisions about how effective it is?
Students could explore a contemporary technology-related controversial context (for example, genetic engineering, stem cell research, climate change, alternative energy sources, environmentally-friendly building design, and so on) and identify issues that have arisen from this context. As part of this, they could interview a range of people to establish their views and explore in depth the influences on and impacts of people's perceptions and attitudes on related technological developments. Current codes of practice related to the wider context (both national and international), could be identified and their development and purpose explained and analysed in terms of how they may influence future developments both positively and negatively.
Students achieving at level 3 could be expected to:
- describe the physical nature of a Technological Outcome they are developing and describe how it could function and why it would be suitable for particular users
- explain how changes to the physical nature of their outcome could enhance its fitness for purpose.
Students achieving at level 4 could be expected to:
- describe the proper function of the selected technological outcome
- explain how the technological outcome might be able to be used by end-users for purposes other than what it was originally designed for
- discuss the likely impact of using technological outcomes in alternative ways.
Students achieving at level 5 could be expected to:
- explain how explorations of their own outcome in various contexts allowed them to gain a deeper understanding of how they could modify their design to reduce user misuse and/or inappropriate environmental location
- explain the concept of malfunction, and use the selected Technological Outcome to illustrate the difference between malfunction and failure due to wear and tear
- explain why the Technological Outcome malfunctioned and identify changes in its design should you be developing the outcome today.
This has a great deal of information on it that provides more details, opening up to chatbots, and whether chatbots meet the ideas of artificial intelligence.
There is a NCEA Level 3 Achievement Standard that allows for the information to be assessed, this could allow for a basis of understanding for the questioning as well as step ups for the rubric.
Selected Area: Intelligent Systems (Artificial Intelligence)
Key Problem: Determining whether or not a computer program is able to have a conversation with a human and seem like another human.
Algorithms/ Techniques: Turing Test
Practical Application: Using the Turing Test to evaluate if a chatbot is able to have a human-like conversation.
In summary, to satisfy the standard you might do the following:Describe the key problem
Explain how the Turing Test can be used to evaluate a chatbot
Explain (Describe) how you evaluated a chatbot with the Turing Test, in order to demonstrate the use of the Turing Test in Artificial Intelligence.
Discuss other related applications of the Turing Test
Evaluate how effective the Turing Test is at addressing the key problem
Look at overseas now...
Recent advances in computer hardware have been accompanied by similar improvements in software, resulting in affordable fifth-generation languages (5GLs). Availability is not the same thing as accessibility, however, and artificial intelligence, which is a key component to 5GL software, remains a curiosity. At most, one can learn about it as an elective class at the university level, usually taught by a graduate teaching assistant. This is unusual, given the role it plays in society today.
While teaching Artificial Intelligence (AI) at the high-school level, the author has developed a four-part curriculum that is offered as a model for implementation into a high school's computer curriculum. A broad overview of this curriculum follows.
* Overview of AI Curriculum
Students begin by examining a variety of topics, such as the definition of intelligence and the components of learning. They explore different ways of representing information as well as current uses of AI in business and industry. Vocabulary is introduced at this time. The focus of the second part of the curriculum is upon expert systems, a specialized type of software in which the computer attempts to duplicate the function of an expert in a specific field. The computer makes recommendations based upon the rules (knowledge base) created by a programmer. Students are introduced to PDC Prolog, one of two common programming languages used in AI, in the third segment. Use of a robotics manufacturing system that incorporates machine vision in the identification and manipulation of parts occurs in the fourth and final part of the curriculum.
The remainder of this article is devoted to a brief definition of AI, examples of current applications, a justification for including AI in a high school's computer curriculum and the curriculum proposal itself.
* Defining Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence is "the branch of computer science devoted to the study of how computers can be used to simulate or duplicate functions of the human brain... [making] it appear as though a computer is thinking, reasoning, making decisions, storing or retrieving knowledge, solving problems, and learning."
Artificial Intelligence differs from other programming languages in at least three ways. First, it does not use algorithms--step-by-step procedures--to solve problems. Instead, it uses symbolic representation--letters, words or numbers--to represent objects (in the form of statements and procedures), processes and their relationships.
The second major area of difference is how uncertainty is handled. Using the sentence "Erin is taller than Esther" as an example, how does one define tall? Are you tall at five feet five inches? What about short? Are you short at four feet eleven inches or at five feet? Artificial Intelligence is able to deal with such imprecision through the use of confidence factors and probability.
The final distinction lies within the realm of decision-making. Conventional software uses precise data and step-by-step instructions for solving a problem, thereby limiting the computer to predetermined solutions. Whereas in AI, the computer is given information (sometimes imprecise) and the ability to make inferences. The computer and the software determine the solution.
* Real-World Uses of AI
Artificial Intelligence is important not only because the Japanese are using it as their language of choice for their fifth-generation computers, but because it is already impacting our daily lives. Cameras incorporate "fuzzy logic" circuits to control automatic focusing. (Fuzzy logic is a means of dealing with imprecise information, such as short and tall, by assigning a value between 0 and 1.) Subway trains use it to control acceleration and deceleration.
Expert systems are utilized by businesses for such things as locating oil and mineral deposits, managing stocks, or troubleshooting and maintenance. …
My thoughts, When developing this I have been thinking about what is the purpose of AI, and getting students to develop chatbots that have a purpose and function. Just the thinking involved in that would be nice for a 9 week block, only 80 minutes a week.
Some of the ideas are now in a POND bucket, see here