Session Plan — Ethical Inventors

Children "train" a pretend robot (a friend) by showing examples of apples vs oranges, then test it.

• Experiment Show the robot 5 apples and 5 oranges. Now give it a tricky one — what does it guess, and why?

Children give a pretend robot matched examples, then test its guesses.

• Experiment Teach the robot with clear examples, then give it a hard one.
• Discuss The robot only knows what we showed it. Is that fair to the robot?

A short scenario: a delivery robot dropped a neighbor's gift. The class reasons out who should fix it.

• Discuss The robot dropped it — but who told the robot what to do? Who should say sorry?
• Reflect Could we make a rule so it does not happen again? Write our fair rule.

Children weigh how each person in a mishap feels before deciding what is fair.

• Reflect How does the neighbour feel? How does the robot’s owner feel?
• Discuss Saying sorry can mend feelings. Who should say it, and how?

Teams decompose a real problem (e.g. remembering to water plants) and sketch a machine with a fairness rule.

• Challenge Break the problem into 3 small steps your machine must do. Then add one rule to keep it kind.

Children sketch a helpful machine and design one rule to keep it kind.

• Create Design a machine that helps — then add one rule so it never harms anyone.
• Reflect Show your machine and its kindness rule. Why did you choose it?

A clever tech could do harm; children reason out whether it should be used.

• Discuss A machine could do your friend's homework for them. Could it? Should it? Why not?
• Challenge Write one rule for your invention that says when it must STOP — and ask a human.
• Reflect Who should always decide the important things — the machine, or the person? Why the person?

Children sort actions into "a machine can" and "a machine should", and reason about the gap.

• Challenge A machine CAN do this — but SHOULD it? Sort each card, and say why.
• Reflect Who should always decide the important things — the machine or a person? Why?

Children "train" a pretend robot (a friend) by showing examples of apples vs oranges, then test it.

• Experiment Show the robot 5 apples and 5 oranges. Now give it a tricky one — what does it guess, and why?

Children give a pretend robot matched examples, then test its guesses.

• Experiment Teach the robot with clear examples, then give it a hard one.
• Discuss The robot only knows what we showed it. Is that fair to the robot?

A short scenario: a delivery robot dropped a neighbor's gift. The class reasons out who should fix it.

• Discuss The robot dropped it — but who told the robot what to do? Who should say sorry?
• Reflect Could we make a rule so it does not happen again? Write our fair rule.

Children weigh how each person in a mishap feels before deciding what is fair.

• Reflect How does the neighbour feel? How does the robot’s owner feel?
• Discuss Saying sorry can mend feelings. Who should say it, and how?

Teams decompose a real problem (e.g. remembering to water plants) and sketch a machine with a fairness rule.

• Challenge Break the problem into 3 small steps your machine must do. Then add one rule to keep it kind.

Children sketch a helpful machine and design one rule to keep it kind.

• Create Design a machine that helps — then add one rule so it never harms anyone.
• Reflect Show your machine and its kindness rule. Why did you choose it?

A clever tech could do harm; children reason out whether it should be used.

• Discuss A machine could do your friend's homework for them. Could it? Should it? Why not?
• Challenge Write one rule for your invention that says when it must STOP — and ask a human.
• Reflect Who should always decide the important things — the machine, or the person? Why the person?

Children sort actions into "a machine can" and "a machine should", and reason about the gap.

• Challenge A machine CAN do this — but SHOULD it? Sort each card, and say why.
• Reflect Who should always decide the important things — the machine or a person? Why?

Children "train" a pretend robot (a friend) by showing examples of apples vs oranges, then test it.

• Experiment Show the robot 5 apples and 5 oranges. Now give it a tricky one — what does it guess, and why?

Children give a pretend robot matched examples, then test its guesses.

• Experiment Teach the robot with clear examples, then give it a hard one.
• Discuss The robot only knows what we showed it. Is that fair to the robot?

A short scenario: a delivery robot dropped a neighbor's gift. The class reasons out who should fix it.

• Discuss The robot dropped it — but who told the robot what to do? Who should say sorry?
• Reflect Could we make a rule so it does not happen again? Write our fair rule.

Children weigh how each person in a mishap feels before deciding what is fair.

• Reflect How does the neighbour feel? How does the robot’s owner feel?
• Discuss Saying sorry can mend feelings. Who should say it, and how?