{"id":3601,"date":"2018-05-28T20:47:03","date_gmt":"2018-05-28T20:47:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dalelane.co.uk\/blog\/?p=3601"},"modified":"2018-05-29T08:48:44","modified_gmt":"2018-05-29T08:48:44","slug":"noughts-and-crosses-ai-demo-for-science-fair-events","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dalelane.co.uk\/blog\/?p=3601","title":{"rendered":"Noughts and Crosses AI demo for Science Fair events"},"content":{"rendered":"

A hands-on demo for use at a small STEM event – letting kids train a simple AI system by playing a few games of noughts and crosses.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I prepared an activity for a STEM event in London this week. The idea was to make something for a Science Fair sort of event – where children will be walking past a stand, and might stop for a minute or two to try out an activity. <\/p>\n

The objective was to come up with a hands-on demo that would enable a volunteer to talk to the children about machine learning. <\/p>\n

As I’ve written it, I thought I’d share it here in case anyone else might find it useful for another event. <\/p>\n

\"Noughts<\/p>\n

It’s based on the noughts-and-crosses activity that I’ve used before. Kids play noughts-and-crosses against a simple artificial intelligence system. The computer uses a machine learning model to decide where to make it’s moves. And that machine learning model will be trained throughout the event using the moves from every game so far. <\/p>\n

Download the instructions here<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Nought<\/p>\n

A child who comes to the stand to play a Noughts and Crosses game at the start of the event will probably win. The computer will be making decisions essentially at random. <\/p>\n

As the event goes on, and the more the game is played, the better trained the computer will be. <\/p>\n

A child who tries the game towards the end of the event should see a difference – and the computer should stand a reasonable chance of winning or at least forcing a draw against them. <\/p>\n

Download the instructions here<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Trial<\/p>\n

A nice element of using this at a STEM event is that it’s a chance to tell some history, too. This activity is a virtual simulation based on a project by Donald Michie<\/a> in 1963. It means the event can also talk about the UK’s long history in AI research.<\/p>\n

Developing the activity…<\/strong><\/p>\n

I used Machine Learning for Kids<\/a> as the platform to base the activity on. Children will be playing Noughts and Crosses in Scratch, but using a Scratch game that has been set up for them already. This approach meant I could get all of this ready in a couple of evenings, as I didn’t have to write any code and could base it on an existing classroom activity that I already had. <\/p>\n

Until now, everything I’ve done with that tool has been based on the model used by groups like Code Club<\/a>. That is, assuming that children will be sat at a computer (either by themselves, or in pairs) for about an hour, to work on a single project. That’s a very different environment to a stand at an event, where kids will be standing and try something for only a minute.<\/p>\n

Although Scratch might not be the first choice to develop a demo app, I think it does at least send an additional underlying message to kids who try it out that AI is becoming accessible. <\/p>\n

And I think a benefit of using Noughts and Crosses as the basis for the demo has the benefit of being a game that kids already know how to play – so that won’t be a barrier to kids trying it out, and the volunteers at the event won’t have to waste time explaining the rules of the game. <\/p>\n

But whether it makes a compelling activity or really enables the sort of conversations about AI that I hope it will… I don’t know yet. Unlike the class worksheets<\/a> that I write, that I get to try out on local school classes before publishing, this one is a bit less tested as an approach\/concept. Fingers crossed it works!<\/p>\n

.<\/p>\n

Update:<\/strong> Andy pointed me at this video of an event last year where they had a Noughts and Crosses AI stand based on MENACE, but getting people to play against a physical system built of matchboxes. That is awesome! <\/p>\n