AI: It’s not just the future – it’s NOW!

By Hilary Philips, YouthLInk Scotland

It’s Saturday morning and two groups of young people are gathering to make their way to Sopra Steria’s Edinburgh office.  Typically, the technology company’s office would be deserted at the weekend, but this is an opportunity for the young people to catch a flavour of a corporate office, share about Artificial Intelligence and take the next step on the journey to help other young people explore this important and fast-moving topic.

It’s an early start for the young people and youth workers from Cromar Future Group who come from across Aberdeenshire and have several hours of coach journey south before the workshop begins.  They are meeting up with young people from The Citadel, Leith, who just need to get the bus along from the other end of the city.  Both groups of young people have chosen to take part in a project to carry out some youth-led research and contribute to creating new activities and resources.

Darren Links is one of the team at Sopra Steria who have all donated precious weekend time to support the project.  He says, “We were so pleased to be able to help this enthusiastic group of young people to understand AI and how it can drive positive change in business and society. We’re committed to making a real difference to our communities, which includes inspiring the next generation to use technology with confidence, creativity and purpose.”

The trip to Sopra Steria is definitely a highlight of a project which included a series of workshops in different locations, with different inputs and opportunities for the young people to learn, share and for the two groups to get to know each other.

Cameron, a young person from The Citadel group said, “I think youth workers can do a lot. So long as it’s fun, so long as it’s simple, so long as it’s easy, it will help younger people learn about AI, learn what to avoid and what to do. Simple activities with Play Doh, visiting other places, it’s all a lot of fun and will make a difference.”

Iain Robinson, Deputy CTO (Strategic Digital Solutions) at Sopra Steria says, “I spent the day today with a lot of young people in Edinburgh exploring how AI is being used, and I’ve found it really helpful to hear about their needs and to hear how the young people see this area developing. It’s really inspiring and encouraging to see the next generation coming in and working with us, people with some experience of using Artificial Intelligence in the business world.”

Les Ellis, youth worker with Cromar Future Group, Aberdeenshire said, “This was a wonderful experience of our young members.  We all learned more about how to use AI effectively, and they so enjoyed the visits and workshops, particularly to Sopra Steria as this gave them an overview of how a big company might use AI.  A big thank you to all involved.”

Our Futures and AI:  Reflections on the Journey

The use of AI in every walk of life is developing so rapidly.  It is a massive challenge to keep pace and so important to support young people to explore this new iteration of powerful and easy access technology which is potentially so pervasive and disruptive.

As we reflect back on an interesting and demanding project, there is the sense that it was the right thing at the right time.

Extract taken from the Feasibility Study report ‘AI: It’s not just the future – it’s NOW!’