🕵️ Mission #003: The AI Operative

Tasks

📋 Task 1: The Three Schools (How AI Learns)

The Concept: Computers go to school just like humans, but they have 3 different types of classes:

1. The Teacher: The computer is shown examples with the answers.
2. The Detective: The computer gets lots of data without answers and looks for patterns.
3. The Gamer: The computer learns by trying things. Good moves get rewards. Bad moves get penalties.

The Mission: Answer these 3 questions:

1. Teacher School: ****If you want to teach an AI to spot a cat, do the photos need to be labelled “cat”? (Yes or No)
2. Detective School: If an AI is sorting fruit without knowing the names, does it look for labels or patterns?
3. Gamer School: ****If an AI plays a video game and falls into a pit, does it get a reward or a penalty?

In real life, these are called supervised, unsupervised and reinforcement learning.

Slide 1:

• [ ] List the 3 Schools (Teacher, Detective, Gamer) and your answers to the 3 questions.

📋 Task 2: The 5 Senses (How AI Uses More Than Text)

The Concept: Some AI can do more than read words. It can see, listen, speak and move – a bit like human senses.

The Match: Match the AI sense to the Human sense:

• Computer Vision = _______
• Speech-to-Text = _______
• Text-to-Speech = _______
• Robotics/Sensors = _______

The Hunt: Find one app on a phone that uses two of these senses at the same time.

Hint: Think of Alexa (Does she listen? Does she talk?) or Google Translate (Does it use the camera? Does it read out loud?).

Slide 2:

• [ ] The matching list
• [ ] One app example and the senses it uses

📋 Task 3: Target Acquisition (Lab 1)

The Mission: Go to Emoji Scavenger Hunt (emojiscavengerhunt.withgoogle.com). The AI will give you a “Target” (like a watch, a shoe or a cup). You must run and show that object to the camera before the timer runs out to verify the target.

It proves the AI can recognize objects in real-time.

Tip: You can open Emoji Scavenger Hunt on a phone to make it easier.

Slide 3:

• [ ] High Score: How many items did you find before time ran out?
• [ ] The Glitch**:** Did the AI ever get confused? (e.g., Did it think your cup was a water bottle?)

📋 Task 4: The Deepfake Detective (Ethics)

The Concept: AI can make fake videos where people look or sound real. It’s like putting a digital mask on someone. This is called a deepfake.

The Scenario: Imagine you see a video on TikTok of your School Principal dancing on a table and shouting, “No more homework forever!” It looks 100% real, but it is actually an AI trick.

Unlike a Hallucination you defined in Mission #002 (where the AI makes a mistake), a Deepfake is a TRAP set by a human.

The Safety Rule: S.L.A.

If a video feels shocking, strange or too good to be true:

1. Stop – don’t share it
2. Look – check for glitches (weird faces, hands or voices)
3. Ask – show an adult or check a trusted source

Slide 4:

• [ ] Define what is a Deepfake? (Use the “Digital Mask” words).
• [ ] Write down the 3 steps of the S.L.A. Rule.

📋Task 5: Spot the Fake (Lab 2)

The Concept: You will see two faces. One is a real person; the other was created by a computer. Can you spot the difference?

The Mission:

1. Go to WhichFaceIsReal.com.
2. Play 5 rounds.
3. Each time choose the Real person

What to look for (Clues)

• Background – strange blobs or blurry shapes
• Accessories – odd earrings or glasses
• Hair – floating or broken-looking hair

Use these clues to help you decide.

Slide 5:

• [ ] My Score: How many did you get right out of 5? (e.g., 4/5).
• [ ] The Clue: Which clue helped you the most? (Did you look at the background? The ears?)

📋 Task 6: The Logic Lab (Algorithms)

The Concept: Computers follow steps in a specific order. If the order is wrong, the result is wrong. The Mission: In Mission #002, you defined the word ‘Algorithm’. Now, you are going to use it to put the steps in the correct order for both Puzzle A and Puzzle B.

Puzzle A: The “FaceID” Unlock

• Compare the new photo to the saved photo of the owner.
• If the photos match, unlock the phone. If not, stay locked.
• The camera takes a picture of the face looking at the phone.
• The phone turns on when you lift it.

Puzzle B: The “Video Game Guard”

• If the player has the Golden Key, open the gate.
• The player walks up to the gate.
• If the player does not have the key, keep the gate locked.
• The Guard checks the player’s inventory (backpack).

Slide 6:

• [ ] Write the correct order (1-4) for Puzzle A
• [ ] Write the correct order (1-4) for Puzzle B

Checklist for Completion

• [ ] Slide 1: The 3 schools of learning
• [ ] Slide 2: Matching list + App example.
• [ ] Slide 3: Target acquisition lab results
• [ ] Slide 4: Deepfake definition + safety rule.
• [ ] Slide 5: WhichFaceIsReal score + clues.
• [ ] Slide 6: Solved logic puzzles (FaceID & Game Guard).

Sharing your investigation

This mission works best when the Investigation Report is shared – with a parent, teacher or friend. Explaining what you learned helps you notice gaps in your own thinking and strengthens your understanding.

If you’d like to share what you discovered with us, ask a parent or teacher to submit your final 8-slide Investigation Report using the link below.

Submissions help improve future missions and understand how learners are thinking about AI. There are no right or wrong answers.

Ask a question

If this mission raised a question you’re still thinking about, ask it here:

This mission is part of the Learning to Think About AI series. The content is designed as a guided experience.

© Kanika Aggarwal. Licensed under Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0.