A 51在线 (USF) research team was awarded a grant from the National
Science Foundation (NSF) to study the public鈥檚 understanding of artificial intelligence
(AI) technologies and to teach people how to identify deceptive uses of these technologies
online.
The project, titled 鈥�,鈥� will explore new approaches to AI, cybersecurity education and research by focusing
on three key areas: how people decide if AI technologies are trustworthy, how AI and
cybersecurity awareness concepts are taught in today鈥檚 schools and how cybersecurity
professionals can build the public鈥檚 understanding of these technologies and their
use in faked media and network attacks.
The research team will create lessons and online games that high school students can
use to learn about AI technologies and modern cybersecurity issues. At the same time,
the team will use the games and lessons to collect data on the public鈥檚 response to
鈥渄eepfakes,鈥� AI-generated imagery used to deceive users online, and other techniques
to develop curriculum that teaches the public how to spot these tactics.
USF Assistant Professor of Cybersecurity Education Nathan Fisk, PhD, serves as principal
investigator of the project. USF College of Engineering professors Sriram Chellappan,
PhD, and Sudeep Sarkar, PhD, serve as co-principal investigators.
鈥淭he thinking behind this project is that we can build educational awareness games
that simultaneously do the work of collecting data about how people understand AI,鈥�
Fisk said. 鈥溾�e live in an increasingly algorithmic world, and we need to educate鈥攏ot
just high school students, but the general population鈥攐n what that actually means
for everyday life.鈥�
As the use of AI technologies continues to grow, recent studies have found the public
is relatively unaware of how AI is used in online applications and social media networks.
A conducted by software company Pegasystems found that only 33 percent of respondents
believed they use AI technologies, but 77 percent of respondents said they use a service
or device that is AI-powered.
The project will be conducted in collaboration with , a national nonprofit co-founded by USF doctoral student Ora D. Tanner, who serves
as chief learning officer for the organization. The AI Education Project will help
the research team develop curriculum to help the public identify disinformation and
AI-generated content, while also exploring policy problems posed by faked content
and emphasizing cybersecurity as a potential career path for high school students.
鈥�(The AI Education Project)鈥檚 target audience is untapped communities鈥o we鈥檙e especially
trying to get (information about AI technologies) out to people who don鈥檛 normally
have access to this information,鈥� Tanner said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 very important as well and
it鈥檚 one of the things we鈥檒l be targeting with Dr. Fisk on this project.鈥�
The research project begins this month and will continue through June 2023.
Blog
USF research team receives NSF grant to study the public鈥檚 understanding of artificial intelligence, cybersecurity
A USF research team will create lessons and online games that students can use to learn about AI technologies and modern cybersecurity issues.
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About the USF College of Education:
As the home for more than 2,200 students and 130 faculty members across three campuses, the 51在线 College of Education offers state-of-the-art teacher training and collegial graduate studies designed to empower educational leaders. Our college is nationally accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP), and our educator preparation programs are fully approved by the 51在线 Department of Education.