Seminar on Artificial Intelligence Literacy in the Fourth Industrial Revolution Era

Speaker:

Dr. Natalie Lao

Executive Director, App Inventor Foundation,

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Individual Specialist, UNESCO

Speaker Bio:

Dr. Natalie Lao is the Executive Director of the App Inventor Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded by professors and engineers at MIT and Google with the mission of empowering students to create meaningful technologies that can transform their lives and uplift their communities. She received her B.S., M.Eng., and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), where she developed database and AI components, and led research, curriculum development, and teacher training for MIT App Inventor initiatives across the globe. At MIT, she was Co-creator and Instructor for the undergraduate course 6.S198: Deep Learning Practicum, and led the trajectory team for the MIT Inclusive AI Literacy and Learning project. Natalie serves as Expert on Mission for UNESCO’s AI & the Futures of Learning project, where she co-developed the United Nations’s AI Competency Framework for School Students.

Speech Title:

Empowering K-12 Students’ AI Competencies and the UNESCO AI Competency Framework

Speech Abstract:

This talk addresses the critical need to equip students with essential AI knowledge, skills, and attitudes to prepare them for active citizenship in the AI era. By combining the UNESCO AI Competency Framework with MIT App Inventor, our approach empowers students to understand, apply, and create AI technologies with a strong focus on ethics and responsibility. Through computational action, students gain hands-on experience in developing AI applications while fostering a mindset centered on agency, accountability, and community impact. We will demonstrate how App Inventor serves as an accessible platform to build these competencies, helping students navigate AI’s complexities thoughtfully. We advocate for integrating AI education for K-12 across the curriculum, providing students with the skills and ethical foundations they need to engage with and shape the future of AI in society.