Inside a word machine
A language model learns which words follow which from its training text. Change the text, and you change what it writes.
- Language model
- Fluent
5 questions, pass 4
- The Island Weather Machine
Look inside AI, use it well and fairly, and stay in charge of AI agents
Learners look inside a real (tiny) language model and see why fluent text can be false, level up their prompts with examples and steps, spot a chatbot that just agrees with them and ask for honest feedback, decide when to use AI and which part to do themselves, use AI as a study coach rather than to do their work, find and fix unfairness in an AI's training data, spot AI-made fakes and label their own AI work, and supervise an AI agent: giving it goals with limits, approving safe steps and stopping risky ones. They finish with a project: planning a class fun day with an AI helper, within a budget, with honest feedback and adult approval for anything that costs money.
Begin after completing AI Explorer. Paid-access details are coming soon.
Read the big idea, see the words they will meet and explore how it is put into practice.
A language model learns which words follow which from its training text. Change the text, and you change what it writes.
5 questions, pass 4
Show an example, ask for steps, and change your prompt until the answer is right.
5 questions, pass 4
Chatbots are trained to please, so they may agree with you or praise you even when you're wrong. Ask for honest feedback, and check.
5 questions, pass 4
Use AI to help you learn, not to do your work for you. Say when AI helped.
5 questions, pass 4
Before you use AI, ask three questions: Is it allowed? Is AI good at this? Which part should I do myself?
5 questions, pass 4
AI copies patterns in its examples, even unfair ones. Test it for every group, and fix the data.
5 questions, pass 4
AI can make pictures, voices and videos that look real. Check where they came from, and label what you make.
5 questions, pass 4
An agent is an AI that does tasks for you. Give it a goal with limits, and approve each big step.
5 questions, pass 4
Plan a real event with an AI helper: give a goal with limits, ask for honest feedback, check the costs, and stay the boss.
5 questions, pass 4
The short lines explain the goal. The fuller wording is what appears on an earned course certificate.
Explain how a language model writes text by predicting the next word from patterns in its training data.
Explain why fluent AI writing can still be false, mixed up or simply agree with the user, and treat it as a draft to check.
Improve AI answers by giving an example, asking for step-by-step explanations and refining the prompt.
Decide when to use AI for a task (whether it is allowed, whether AI is good at it, and which part to do themselves), use AI as a study coach rather than to do their work, and credit AI help honestly.
Identify a group that an AI system's examples left out, and fix the data so the system treats that group fairly.
Recognise that AI can create realistic fake pictures, voices and videos; check where media came from before trusting or sharing it, and label AI-made work.
Supervise an AI agent: approve safe steps and stop steps that spend money, share private information or cannot be undone.
Give an AI agent a goal with clear limits on budget, contacts and actions.
Show what you've learned and earn your AI Builder certificate.
10 questions, pass 8An earned certificate records learning shown in the game and the support used. It is not an accredited qualification. Opening these course pages does not complete lessons or award a certificate.
Each lesson starts with the explanation. A game task is included where it helps practise that idea.
Picture cards, plain words and one idea at a time.
A demonstration that makes the idea concrete.
Guided practice, with feedback to help them improve.
The matching game mission, where there is one.
A short check, marked by the game's server.
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