Echoes of Urgency: Comparing Calls for AI Literacy, Financial Literacy, and Digital Literacy

• In Event: Data, AI, and Power: Critical Perspectives on Equity and Influence in Education

Abstract

This decade has seen a rise of calls for “AI Literacy” to be taught in schools, without defining what the term means, what the learning objectives of such a curriculum might include or even the precise problem(s) it is meant to address. This echoes calls in recent decades for “Financial Literacy” to be taught in schools, which similarly have lacked even a mildly developed theory of action or a clear problem definition. This paper explores the parallels in these two efforts to shift responsibility for addressing some large societal issue of the moment to schools’ responsibility for literacy education. It addresses their similar social contexts, similar shortcomings and parallel lack of potential efficacy.

Author

• Alexander M. Hoffman, AleDev Research