7Responsible Programmers

Fawzooz said, “AI can do wonderful things, but it comes with a big responsibility. It’s important that we use it in ways that are ethical and safe.”

Fairness. The children had built a robot that stood at the gate of the playground, knew their friends’ faces and welcomed each of them by name. One day a friend of theirs with dark skin came along, and the robot didn’t know him, so the gate stayed shut; they had taught it with pictures of themselves alone. Fawzooz said, “The robot isn’t being unfair on purpose, but it has only learned from what you showed it.” So the children gathered all kinds of pictures, with the permission of the people in them and their families, and taught the robot all over again. And when their friend came back, the gate opened for him, and the robot welcomed him by name.

“The goal of AI is to improve our lives, and make the world a better place.”

Privacy. Then the little girl said, “Fawzooz, my brother wants to film everyone who walks through the village square!” Fawzooz stopped him and said, “People’s faces are a trust… we ask first, and then we keep what we’ve taken safe and sound. It’s irresponsible to collect people’s information without their permission; that invades their privacy, and we must respect it.” And the boy lowered the camera, embarrassed.

The little boy said, “I want to be a responsible programmer who makes things that are fair and safe for everyone.” And the little girl said, “And I’ll work hard to learn everything I need.”

Fawzooz smiled and said, “I’m proud of you all. And remember, the journey isn’t over; read, try small projects, and always stay curious. The goal of AI is to improve our lives, and make the world a better place.”

And so the children went on a whole journey with Fawzooz: they found out how a machine learns, visited the robots, played, built a robot with their own hands, and learned that what they make should be fair and trustworthy. And they finished with a promise to be responsible programmers.