Ākonga comparing AI generated photos with real photos

Taranaki’s future scientists were in the spotlight at the Pūtaiao 2024 Expo. Over 400 Māori ākonga (students) in Year 9 & 10 from Taranaki discovered the power of AI for conservation. From drawing animals to spotting fake photos, students were amazed by AI’s potential.

Victor presented the quick draw programme to a group of ākonga.

This week, we joined Pūtaiao 2024, a science fair for Māori ākonga organised by Why Ora. Along with other organisations like Parininihi ki Waitotara and Venture Taranaki, Victor and I set out to inspire, engage and encourage ākonga to continue with science throughout their secondary school education, enabling a wider range of career options beyond school.

The event was split into 30-minute sessions featuring interactive activities. We played with the AI-powered game Quickdraw, where ākonga had 20 seconds to draw a given prompt while the computer attempted to guess their drawing. Quickdraw was an opportunity to interact with an AI system. The ākonga were surprised at the computer’s ability to identify various objects from drawings that may not have been easily identifiable to the human eye.

We also challenged ākonga to distinguish between real and AI-generated images. The ākonga found some of the images difficult to distinguish between and were amazed at how advanced and realistic the AI images were. After this task, the ākonga then provided prompts to generate their own images. This proved difficult as they quickly discovered that prompts required specific details to generate accurate images.

Ākonga comparing AI generated photos with real photos.

These activities illustrated various AI functions, and the presentation concluded with a demonstration of the Wildlife Watcher, highlighting the role of AI in supporting conservation projects.

Tash creating an image using a prompt provided by the ākonga.

Overall, our kōrero (discussion) was enthusiastically received by the ākonga, with over 70% expressing interest in how AI supports environmental action. Their feedback reflected this excitement. For example, when asked “How has this session changed your perspective on AI?” some ākonga mentioned:

  • “The pictures on the table were more realistic than we expected.”
  • “I didn’t realise how advanced AI has become.”
  • “It provided us with a better understanding of AI’s capabilities and power.”
  • “It helped me learn more.”

Additional feedback noted:

  • “It was really valuable to learn how AI contributes to environmental action in real life.”

Overall, we had a fantastic day engaging with these budding scientists and received positive responses from all participating schools. The event filled us with energy to continue working on a suite of online and in-person lessons for intermediate ākonga about AI and conservation. We will have these lessons freely available for schools in a few months.

We would like to thank Why Ora for the fabulous opportunity to present alongside other agencies who are committed to enhancing the future of Taranaki. We look forward to next year.