In light of the increasing relevance of artificial intelligence (AI) in education and daily life, Central Square Foundation, a leading education non-profit, has received grant funding from Google’s philanthropic arm, Google.org, to help launch an AI literacy initiative.
The initiative, known as ‘AI Samarth’, aims to address the imminent need for increasing AI awareness and promoting responsible use of AI among educators, students, and parents across India. Over a 4-year period, the initiative aims to reach over 5 million (50 lakh) students, parents, and educators– empowering future generations with the knowledge and tools necessary to navigate a rapidly evolving AI-driven world.
India has one of the largest education systems in the world, with ~1.5 million (14.8 lakh) schools and 9.5 million (95 lakh) teachers reaching over 265 million (26.5 crores) students across the country. However, current AI literacy initiatives for the school system in India are limited. High-quality content and contextual curriculum focused on AI literacy for Bharat is scarce, hindering reach and awareness at scale. Hence, significant gaps exist in awareness, understanding, and using AI responsibly. As innovative applications of AI in education emerge, it becomes critical to build awareness amongst educators, parents and students about the opportunities and risks associated with AI.
To effectively tackle these challenges at scale, the ‘AI Samarth’ initiative will aim to cultivate deeper knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding AI and its responsible use among teachers, parents and students through a holistic approach:
- The initiative aims to develop an expert-reviewed AI literacy curriculum for students, parents and teachers, along with an open-source high-quality content library for Bharat.
- This content will be disseminated through local implementation partners leveraging both cascaded training programmes and online platforms to ensure effective adoption.
- The initiative will aim to foster collaboration and best practice sharing among key stakeholders to build salience on the critical need for AI Literacy in the schooling system.
‘AI Samarth’ is dedicated to catalysing a widespread movement of AI literacy throughout India’s school education landscape, empowering communities across Bharat at scale.
Shaveta Sharma-Kukreja, CEO & MD, Central Square Foundation, added : “With AI becoming prevalent in our everyday life, there is a strong need to have AI literacy for all. ‘AI Samarth’ is an ambitious initiative to build improved knowledge, attitudes, and practices around AI for teachers, students and parents. We will take a comprehensive approach to develop curriculum and content, train teachers in the Education system & also communities at the grassroot level to reach our students, and also build salience on AI awareness across stakeholders. With ‘AI Samarth’, we aim to reach over 5 million (50 lakh) educators, students and parents across India, creating a foundation for responsible AI adoption to support student learning.”
