ALIA: Artificial Intelligence
Science and creation for secondary schools with the Barcelona Supercomputing Center
ALIA is an educational programme for young people organised by the CCCB that connects scientific dissemination and creation, generating a space for conversation and collaborative work between scientific and technological research centres, agents from the cultural ecosystem and secondary schools. We opened a call for groups of students in 4th ESO and 1st Baccalaureate of six schools to take part in the project exploring the challenges and cultural, ethical, political and social implications of artificial intelligence, with the collaboration of the Barcelona Supercomputing Center - Centro Nacional de Supercomputación (BSC-CNS).
Is artificial intelligence actually intelligence? Why do we call it artificial? Can AI be creative? What socio-economic changes are we experiencing now and will we experience in the future as a result of the implementation of artificial intelligence in our daily lives? How do we ensure that algorithms make fair and ethical decisions? Whose responsibility is this? Over seven months (from October 2023 to May 2024) the 200 young participants and teachers involved in ALIA: Artificial Intelligence will reflect on these issues, in parallel to the Artificial Intelligence exhibition (CCCB) and with the collaboration of the Barcelona Supercomputing Center - Centro Nacional de Supercomputación (BSC-CNS).
Objectives
- Approach the main challenges facing current scientific research with a global view.
- Link classroom learning to the cutting-edge scientific research currently being carried out in Catalonia.
- Understand art and artistic methodologies as tools to generate complex and deep knowledge about the world around us.
- Explore and critically reflect on the uses and applications of artificial intelligence and its consequences in our lives based on concepts from the humanities.
- Learn about artificial intelligence through practice, experimentation and creation.
- Work with artificial intelligence tools.
- Work in an interdisciplinary way.
The selected educational centers
- EA Llotja (Barcelona)
- INS Tecnològic de Barcelona (Barcelona)
- INS Milà i Fontanals (Barcelona)
- INS El Martinet (El Ripollet)
- INS Torrent de les Bruixes (Santa Coloma de Gramenet)
- INS Matadepera (Matadepera)
Project schedule
The project will be developed throughout the school year (from October to May) following a continuous work process in three stages: research and documentation, creation, discussion and presentation.
Stage 1: Research and documentation (October–December 2023)
- 9 October 2023: opening lecture on the dilemmas of creative artificial intelligence
- October–December 2023:
- Visit to the Artificial Intelligence exhibition at the CCCB and meeting with a scientist from the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC-CNS)
- Guided tour of the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC-CNS)
- Independent work in schools based on the proposals in the teaching dossier
Stage 2: Creation (January–April 2024)
- 11 January 2024: Meeting with a guest artist
- Independent work in schools for the final creation of the project (one per each class group)
Stage 3: Discussion and presentation (April–May 2024)
- Second half of January 2024: Generative IA workshop
- Completion of the final creation of the project
- First half of May 2024: final presentation at the CCCB
Associated teacher training
In order for teachers to be able to develop the ALIA work process, we propose the following training, which will consist of 15 hours certified by the Department d’Educació:
- 14 September 2023: presentation of the educational material (a teaching dossier of about 100 pages) to participating teachers. During the following two weeks, teachers need to read the material and prepare a plan for how the ALIA programme will be carried out in their school.
- 28 September 2023: teacher training sessions to collectively establish the planning of the work process in the classroom and resolve any doubts that may arise.
- 25 October 2023: guided tour of the exhibition with Lluis Nacenta (for teachers only).
As supplementary training, we recommend voluntary attendance to the following activities along with the reading of the following bibliography:
- 17 October and 20–22 November 2023: conference programme held in parallel to the Artificial Intelligence exhibition
- Bibliography
- Carrión, Jorge; Taller Estampa; GPT-2 y 3. Los campos electromagnéticos: Teorías y prácticas de la escritura artificial. Madrid: Cajanegra Editora, 2023.
- Fundació Jaume Bofill. Los algoritmos a examen: ¿Por qué IA en educación?, 2022. Available online at: https://fundaciobofill.cat/uploads/docs/q/z/z/dzp-e40_guia_digital_040123_algoritmos.pdf (accessed 29 March 2023).
- O’Neil, Cathy. Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy. New York: Crown, 2018.
Participants: Maria Arnal, Josep Lluís Berral, Atia Cortés, Tim Cowlishaw, Ana Dueso-Barroso, Marta Garcia Gasulla, Ona de Gibert, Maria-Cristina Marinescu, Maite Melero, Lluís Nacenta, Constanza Piffardi, Maria José Rementeria
This activity is part of AI: Artificial Intelligence, ALIA
