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What’s Your Problem?
Duration: 45 minutes
Grade Levels: 3-12
What’s Your Problem?
Brainstorming AI Solutions
This mash-up brainstorming game examines the way humans can use AI as a tool to solve a problem.
Grade Levels: 3-12
Duration: 45 minutes
Concepts/Skills: Artificial intelligence, problem-solving, brainstorming
Objectives:
- Understand what artificial intelligence (AI) is.
- Explore how AI tools could be used to solve problems.
- Examine the actions humans take when using AI tools.
- Consider the data and information that AI tools might use.
- Think critically about the potential benefits and challenges that could result from their AI solutions.
Background Information
Artificial Intelligence (AI) most often refers to a device or program designed to mimic aspects of human intelligence to complete complex tasks and make decisions. AI is also used for:
- visual recognition (facial recognition, visual image search).
- speech recognition (used in software like Siri and a virtual assistant like Amazon's Alexa).
- machine translation (i.e., Google Translate).
Note: Artificial intelligence tools are machines and computers, and thus the recommendation is to often avoid anthropomorphizing them with students (giving them human qualities or characteristics). As a machine AI has imitations, it has no option for empathy, lacks emotional intelligence, life experience, or gut instincts.
For more resources on AI, see thetech.org/ai
The Tech for Global Good is an initiative to create the next generation of innovators ready to tackle the toughest challenges facing our planet. Every year we recognize innovators who use technology to improve lives. In 2024-2025, The Tech for Global Good honors four laureates who have created innovative technology that harnesses artificial intelligence (AI) to solve societal challenges, enhance human well-being, and drive sustainable development worldwide. Their stories are an inspiration for classroom resources and design challenges.
Learn More
Materials
- Farm-ng “Where’s the AI” video (1:47 min)
- Device to present the video to the class
- Deck of Game Cards
- Option 1: One deck per 2-4 students
- Option 2: One deck for the teacher
- (Optional) Scratch paper and writing utensils
- (Optional) Teach with Me videos
- Teacher Preview video (4:31 min)
- Teach with Me video (43:57 min)
- (Optional) Concept Sketch Extension Handout
Preparation
- Review the Teacher Preview video (4:31 min) and Teach With Me activity video (43:57 min) and decide if you will play the it for students.
- Try the game yourself. This will give you practice with the materials to be able to anticipate student questions.
- Print Game Cards and prepare materials.
- Print cards double-sided.
- If doing the activity with multiple classes, consider preparing one deck of cards per 2-4 students.
- If printing supplies are limited, print one set for you to facilitate the game.
Tip: Teach with The Tech!
We love brainstorming and prototyping at The Tech, so we are extra excited to announce our latest innovation: a “Teach with Me” Lesson.
Review the Preview video to get some tips for facillitating the activity. Then, you can play the Teach with Me video below and have students follow along with our staff as they lead the activity. The video includes times when we suggest pausing and having students share or discuss.
Since we won’t really be there to hear students’ ideas, we’d love for you to share them back with us. Share your ideas with us
Teacher Preview (4:31 min)
Tips on how to lead the activity.
Teach with Me video (43:57 min)
Play this video for your class, and have our staff guide them through the facilitation of this activity.
Outline
Frame the Activity |
10 min total |
|
AI for Global Good |
5 min |
|
Introduce the Game |
5 min |
Round 1: What's Your Problem? |
10 min total |
|
Play Round 1 |
5 min |
|
Quick Share-out |
5 min |
Round 2: Brainstorming AI Solutions |
25 min total |
|
What can AI tools do? |
5 min |
|
Play Round 2 |
10 min |
|
Debrief |
10 min |
Lesson Directions
Frame the Challenge
AI for Global Good (5 min)
- Let students know that today they will be talking about artificial intelligence.
- Have students share a few examples of where they have seen AI being used.
- If students need more context, provide them with a basic introduction to AI and ML. Use the Background Information to supplement student understanding as needed.
- Introduce the concept of artificial intelligence (AI) as a tool that can help people solve complex problems.
- Tell students you have are going to show them an example of one organization that is doing this. Introduce The Tech for Global Good program and the laureates who are using AI to help them solve complex problems.
- Play the Farm-ng “Where’s the AI” (1:47) video for students.
The Tech for Global Good 2024-2025 Laureate: Farm-ng
6. Lead a brief discussion about Farm-ng, the problem they were solving, and how they used artificial intelligence to help them in their work.
Discussion Questions:
- What problem was Farm-ng trying to solve?
- How does AI help them solve this problem?
- What kinds of things did you see AI doing in this example?
- What kinds of things did you see humans doing in this example?
Extension: AI for Good Discussion Guide
Dig deeper into The Tech for Global Good program and examine several organizations using AI in their work. Consider the strengths and limitations of using AI to create change.
Introduce the Game (5 min)
- Tell students they are going to play a game in which they try to think about how humans can use AI tools to help them solve a problem.
- In Round 1 of the game they will figure out the problem they want to solve.
- In Round 2 they will think about how humans can use AI as a tool to solve the problem.
- Since this is a brainstorming game, the goal is to think of lots of ideas, from random fun ones to serious ones that might actually work.
- Demonstrate the game for students by modeling how to do a “mash-up.”
| Examples of a problem mash-up | Examples of a solution mash-up |
Forest + Lost:
|
Find + provide the correct information:
|
Tip: Note that by choosing words randomly they may come up with interesting ideas from unrelated topics.
3. Address any questions that students have about the process and the game.
To play you will need:
- 2-4 People
- 1 deck of Game Cards (Each set includes)
-
- 8 blue Place cards
- 8 orange Issue cards
- 12 purple AI Tools cards
- 12 green Human Action cards
- 12 bonus Human Action cards
Optional: Provide writing utensils and scratch paper for students to take notes on their ideas.
Options for number of players
- Pairs: Distribute one set of game cards to each pair of students.
- Groups of 4:
- Distribute one set of game cards to each group. Students will play in teams of 2.
- Whole class:
- Only use one set of game cards for the teacher. The teacher will pick the cards and tell students the words to use in their mash-up.
Round 1: What’s your problem?
Play Round 1 (5 min)
- Make sure students understand the game before beginning.
- If students are playing in teams of two, they can take turns pulling a card from their team’s deck.
- If you are using a “Teacher deck” with the entire class, have students work in pairs to think of problems based on the cards you pull.
- Optional: Have students take notes on their problems on scratch paper while they play.
- Shuffle and sort the cards by color and type.
- Place the blue Place cards and orange Issue cards face down on the table in front of each of the players.
*Put the purple and green AI tools, Human Action, and Bonus cards to the side until Round 2.
Round 1 Directions |
|
1 |
|
2 |
Think of a mash-up!
Example: Forest + Lost = People walking in the forest get lost sometimes. |
3 |
|
Quick Share-out (5 min)
- Ask a few pairs to share some examples of the problems that they came up with.
- As this is a brainstorming game, students may be inspired to build on each other’s ideas.
- They may also notice a range of ideas from realistic to whimsical.
- See our Brainstorming Tech Tip for more strategies and brainstorming guidelines.
Round 2: Brainstorming AI Solutions
What can AI do? (5 min)
- Now that students have identified the problems they want to solve, tell them they are going to think about how AI can help them solve this problem.
- Ask students to share a few examples of things that they think AI tools can do.
- Students may list examples of products they have heard of which use AI like self-driving cars or ChatGPT.
- Help them identify some of the specific actions that AI is doing in these products. For example, making predictions, writing, or creating pictures.
- Tip: you can also have students look at the AI Tools cards for some more examples.
- Tell students that AI tools learn to do these things using data (information) provided by humans.
- Share examples of information that AI would need to do a task.
- Note the actions that the humans need to take as well.
- Invite students to share any other examples of data and how it might be used.
- Point out that AI tools can only use the information available to them to complete a task.
- Highlight the examples of "Garbage In, Garbage Out" and the bias and misinformation that can happen based on the data used by AI tools.
Examples
|
Task of the AI tool |
Action by Humans |
Data sets or information |
|
Predict the fastest route to school on a Monday |
Ask questions like:
|
Maps Traffic patterns Speed and time |
Garbage In, Garbage Out
Point out to students that AI tools will use the information available to them to complete a task. So if they are provided with incomplete or missing information, the results will be similarly incorrect.
For example, students may notice that some search engines now show an AI summary at the top of a page. If the websites that the search engine is summarizing are the most popular, but not the most accurate, then the AI summary will be incorrect.
It’s important to understand that AI models can be biased, particularly if they do not include a wide range of data. Try to guide students in understanding that the wider the range of data the model has, the better the AI program will be.
A simple example of this is the Animaker exhibit at The Tech Interactive, which has developed a clear bias for giraffes. The AI in the exhibit was trained to identify animal models built by visitors to The Tech Interactive. Because of how simple giraffes are to build, Animaker has been shown more giraffes than any other animal. The bias in this giraffe-heavy data set has taught Animaker that most animals are giraffes, especially those that have horse-like bodies and even slightly long necks.
The impacts of bias in AI can be significant when applied to the real world. For example, when policing tools that identify likely areas of criminal activity are built using arrest data, they overinflate predicted crime rates in minority communities. This is because the data chosen reflects the use of racial profiling and disproportionate targeting of these communities by law enforcement.
In order to combat AI bias, it is important to think critically about AI and the data it uses. Encourage students to consider who is creating this AI, why it was created, where the data it uses is coming from, if it is being checked for accuracy, and most importantly, who or what is not represented.
Play Round 2 (10 min)
- Tell students the next step in their mash-up game is to brainstorm some ways that AI tools and humans actions can solve their problem.
- Demonstrate Round 2 and address any questions that students have before beginning.
- The process will be the same as Round 1, but this time they will use the solution cards (AI Tools and Human Actions).
- Remind students their "mash-up" can also demonstrate how AI tools and human actions work together to solve a problem.
- Shuffle and sort the cards by color and type.
- Place the purple AI Tools cards and green Human Action cards face down on the table in front of each of the players.
*Set the Bonus Cards to the side for the extension.
Round 2 Directions |
|
1 |
|
2 |
Think of a mash-up!
Example: Find + Provide the Correct Information = AI powered drones could help search for people and suggest routes based on location data. |
3 |
|
Younger Students
Have students pair-share their work with each other.
Have them use sentence frames to provide each other with feedback or ask questions of each other’s work.
- I really like that your solution….
- I wonder if your AI would…
- What do you think your AI would do if….?
Older Students
While students are working, ask open-ended questions to encourage them to think more deeply about their ideas. For example:
- Can you think of any other problems that might create?
- Would that solve any other problems too?
- Are there any ways that might harm people too?
- Would everyone like that solution? Are there some people who might not like that solution?
- How would AI get the data or information it needs to help solve this problem?
Encourage students to use their problem-solving skills to anticipate problems that might come up from their solutions as well. How could they prevent or solve those problems too?
Debrief (10 min)
- Lead a short debrief of the activity and the concepts. Help students make connections between the skills they used in this activity and that of AI systems.
- If you have additional time have students share some of their solutions with each other.
- Possible Debrief Questions include:
- How could these ideas help people?
- How might these ideas create more problems?
- Imagine AI is very smart, but very lazy. How would that affect your solution?
- How could you solve these problems without using any AI tools?
- What did you learn about AI and how it works?
Extension: Concept Sketch
Concept sketches are labelled drawings that show how an invention or idea would work. Designers often use sketching and drawing to think through the details of ideas.
Have students draw a concept sketch of their solution. They can label their concept sketch with information about:
- What problem are you solving?
- What would this solution look like?
- What is the AI tool doing?
- What actions are humans taking?
- How could you represent the data that it uses?
Doing this activity as part of National AI Literacy Day?
Share your students’ work and tell us what you think by emailing us at education@thetech.org, tagging us on social media at #AILiteracyDay, or filling out this form
Standards Connections
| CSTA Computer Science Standards | ||
| Grade | Standard | Description |
| 11-12 | 3B-AP-08 | Describe how artificial intelligence drives many software and physical systems. |
Vocabulary
| Term | Definition |
| artificial intelligence (AI) |
most often refers to a device or program designed to mimic aspects of human intelligence to complete complex tasks and make decisions. |
| data |
Information that can be collected, analyzed, and used to inform decisions. |
| data set | A collection of data |
| machine learning (ML) | A branch of AI where the goal is to create a program that improves over time or “learns” as it processes more data. |
More AI Activities
The fun doesn’t stop here!
Check out our other artificial intelligence activities to apply critical thinking to other AI models.
Visiting The Tech Interactive
Want to see artificial intelligence in action? Check out our Dream Garden exhibition.
Dream Garden is a first-of-its-kind, AI-powered immersive exhibit that transforms your ideas and movements into a vibrant, surreal ecosystem. Designed to spark curiosity and inspire wonder, this playful experience invites visitors of all ages and abilities to step into a dream-like world and explore the creative possibilities of AI.