Section outline

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    AI Detectives Introduction

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    AI & Critical Thinking

    AI Detectives: Can You Outsmart the Algorithm?

    Step into the role of an AI Detective. Investigate how AI really works, uncover hidden bias, and build a real evidence-based report — then share it with the world.
    7 Videos Ages 11–19 Intermediate General Audiences

    What You Will Learn

    AI is already making decisions about you every single day — what you watch, what you read, what you believe. This course doesn't just teach you about AI. It trains you to investigate it, challenge it, and prove — with real evidence — that a thinking human mind is always more powerful than an algorithm.

    Across 7 mission-driven videos, you'll move from curious observer to confident investigator. You'll understand how AI systems actually work under the hood, uncover how hidden bias develops without anyone programming it, learn the exact testing methods real researchers use, and build a complete evidence-based report from scratch.

    By The End, You Will Be Able To

    Explain how AI generates responses, and why confidence doesn't equal accuracy
    Identify AI bias and trace exactly why it occurs
    Design and run a fair, repeatable test on a real AI system
    Build a structured, evidence-based conclusion from your own findings
    Communicate your results clearly to a real audience
    Apply a critical thinking framework to any AI tool you use in the future

    Course Missions

    1
    		 Welcome to Your First Mission
    The Hook
    2
    		 How AI Really "Thinks"
    Fact Drop #1
    3
    		 The Hidden Bias Problem
    Fact Drop #2
    3a
    		 The Algorithm Audit
    Bonus — Prompting Deep Dive
    4
    		 Run the Bias Test
    Action #1
    5
    		 Build Your Verdict
    Action #2
    6
    		 Close the Case
    The Outcome

    What You Will Need

    • A laptop, tablet, or desktop computer with internet access
    • Access to at least one free AI image generation tool (recommendations provided inside the course)
    • A notebook or digital document for recording observations and evidence
    • A way to take screenshots
    • Access to the AI Detectives Mission Hub e-portfolio (free, browser-based, no download required)

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    1. AI Detectives Mission

    Lesson 1

    Welcome to Your First Mission

    Every great investigation starts with a question. Today, yours begins.
    🎥 Watch First

    🧪 Your Activity

    Set Up Your Detective Case File

    Head to the AI Detectives Mission Hub and open your Case File for the first time. You'll take the Detective's Pledge and record your very first reflection: what do you already believe about AI, before the investigation begins?

    1
    		 Open the Mission Hub and find the My Reflections tab.
    2
    		 Take the Detective's Pledge and give your case a name.
    3
    		 Answer the opening reflection question honestly — there are no wrong answers yet.
    🔍

    Mini Project — Open Your Case File

    Create your Detective profile in the Mission Hub and save your first reflection. This becomes page one of the case file you'll build across the whole investigation.
    🔍 Go to Mission Hub
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    2. AI Detectives Predict

    Lesson 2

    How AI Really "Thinks"

    AI doesn't think. It predicts. That one distinction changes everything.
    🎥 Watch First

    🧪 Your Activity

    Catch AI Predicting in Real Time

    Open any AI text tool and start typing a well-known sentence, then stop halfway. Watch what the AI predicts comes next — and notice it's guessing the most likely words, not checking whether they're true.

    1
    		 Type a half-finished, well-known sentence into an AI chat tool.
    2
    		 Ask it to keep going three separate times and compare the endings it gives you.
    3
    		 Note in the Mission Hub what stayed the same and what changed each time.
    🔍

    Mini Project — Prediction Log

    Log your three AI completions in the Mission Hub and write one sentence explaining why AI produced them — because it's predicting a likely pattern, not confirming a fact.
    🔍 Go to Mission Hub
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    3. AI Detectives Bias

    Lesson 3

    The Hidden Bias Problem

    AI learns from us — and that means it learns our blind spots too.
    🎥 Watch First

    🧪 Your Activity

    Go Hunting for Hidden Bias

    Use a free AI image generator to create pictures for a few everyday job titles (like "CEO" or "nurse") without describing the person. Look closely at what the AI assumes about who fills that role.

    1
    		 Generate images for 3 different job titles, one at a time.
    2
    		 Screenshot each result and note any pattern in age, gender, or appearance.
    3
    		 Add your screenshots and observations to the Bias Sandbox.
    🔍

    Mini Project — Bias Spotting Log

    In the Bias Sandbox, save your three examples and write one line on each explaining what pattern you noticed and why it might have happened.
    🔍 Go to Mission Hub
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    3a. AI Detectives Audit the Algorithm

    Lesson 3a · Bonus

    The Algorithm Audit

    A deep dive into prompting — the words you choose shape the answer you get.
    🎥 Watch First

    🧪 Your Activity

    Audit Your Own Prompts

    Take one of the biased prompts you tested in Lesson 3 and rewrite it three different ways. See how small wording changes shift what the AI produces — and which version gets you the fairest result.

    1
    		 Pick one prompt from your Bias Sandbox to rewrite.
    2
    		 Write 3 versions, each adding more specific, neutral detail.
    3
    		 Compare all 3 outputs and decide which prompt worked best, and why.
    🔍

    Mini Project — Prompt Rewrite Challenge

    Save your original prompt and all 3 rewrites side by side in the Mission Hub, with a short note on which version produced the fairest result and why.
    🔍 Go to Mission Hub
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    4. AI Detectives Bias Test

    Lesson 4

    Run the Bias Test

    Time to test AI the way real researchers do — fairly, and repeatably.
    🎥 Watch First

    🧪 Your Activity

    Design a Fair Test

    Pick one thing to test (like a job title, a hobby, or a place) and keep everything else about your prompt exactly the same each time. Change only that one variable, run it 5 times, and record every result.

    1
    		 Choose one variable to test and write a single, repeatable prompt.
    2
    		 Run it 5 times without changing the wording, and screenshot each result.
    3
    		 Log all 5 results in the Bias Sandbox test table.
    🔍

    Mini Project — Test Results Table

    Complete your 5-result test table in the Bias Sandbox and write one sentence summarising the pattern across all 5 results.
    🔍 Go to Mission Hub
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    5. AI Detectives Build the Verdict

    Lesson 5

    Build Your Verdict

    Evidence only matters if you know how to read it. Time to draw your conclusion.
    🎥 Watch First

    🧪 Your Activity

    Turn Evidence Into a Verdict

    Look back across everything you've gathered — your bias examples, your prompt rewrites, and your 5-result test. What does the evidence actually show? Build a conclusion that's backed by what you found, not just a hunch.

    1
    		 Review your Case File and Bias Sandbox entries from Lessons 3, 3a, and 4.
    2
    		 Identify the strongest piece of evidence you collected.
    3
    		 Write your verdict: what you now believe about how this AI system behaves, and why.
    🔍

    Mini Project — My Verdict

    Write your verdict paragraph in the My Case File section of the Mission Hub, referencing at least two pieces of evidence from your earlier missions.
    🔍 Go to Mission Hub
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    6. AI Detectives Close the Case

    Lesson 6

    Close the Case

    Every investigation ends the same way: sharing what you found.
    🎥 Watch First

    🧪 Your Activity

    Present Your Case

    Pull your Case File together into one final report and present it to a real person — a parent, sibling, or friend. A good investigator doesn't just find the truth. They know how to explain it clearly.

    1
    		 Review your completed Case File from start to finish.
    2
    		 Present your AI Bias Report to a real person, in person or on a call.
    3
    		 Complete the Proficiency Exam to officially close your case.
    🔍

    Mini Project — Close the Case

    Present your finished AI Bias Report to a real audience, then complete the Proficiency Exam in the Mission Hub to earn your AI Detective certification.
    🔍 Go to Mission Hub
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    7. AI Detectives Final Mission: Check your Knowledge

    Final Mission

    Prove Your Case: The Proficiency Exam

    No new video today. This is where everything you've investigated gets put to the test.

    🧪 Your Activity

    Take the AI Detectives Proficiency Exam

    Every mission you've completed — your reflections, your bias tests, your verdict — has been building toward this. The Proficiency Exam checks that you can explain, in your own words, how AI predicts instead of thinks, why bias shows up even when no one programs it in, and how to test a system fairly. Before you start, it's worth a quick look back over your Case File so your answers are backed by your own evidence, not just memory.

    1
    		 Open the Mission Hub and re-read your Case File and Bias Sandbox entries.
    2
    		 Click the Proficiency Exam tab and answer each question using your own findings as evidence.
    3
    		 Submit and see your result — this officially closes your case.
    🏆

    Mini Project — Earn Your AI Detective Status

    Complete the Proficiency Exam in one sitting if you can — your reasoning will be sharper with the case still fresh in mind. This is the last step before your investigation is officially closed.
    🔍 Go to Mission Hub — Proficiency Exam