Crowd-funding AI for tiny tots

Queensland University of Technology robotics professor Michael Milford is creating the world’s first guide to artificial intelligence (AI) for preschool children, and has launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund it. 

All through his career in education and robotics, Milford found plenty of information for high school children or adults. But while attempting to explain concepts involving AI to his own young children, he realised there was a dearth of resources. 

Given that the current generation’s future will be inextricably intertwined with AI technologies, he saw a need for them to understand key scientific concepts and even potential problems related to introducing AI into their daily lives.

This spurred him to develop The Complete Guide to Artificial Intelligence for Kids, a comprehensive, easy-to-digest, fully illustrated book for very young children. 

“One of the keys to making it accessible to kids was to simplify complex concepts without removing the core meaning,” he says. This includes using real-life examples to explain how AI makes decisions and actively learns. 

Not only is this guide going to accessible in its content, but the aim is to also make it affordable.

“We’ve gone with a full-colour, 50-page mini-booklet rather than a more expensive hardcover book, so we can get the price down to as little as $1 per guide,” he says.

Milford’s Kickstarter target is a very modest $3000. To help him out, and secure a copy, click here.