Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming our world, shaping how we live, learn, and work. In the world of education, it is becoming widely accepted that learning the fundamentals of AI Literacy is essential for students to safely and successfully navigate the rapidly changing environment in which they will live. AI Literacy is the ability to understand, evaluate and make good decisions about the use of AI technologies. This cannot be reserved for older students in a computer science class alone – it is essential that we prepare even our youngest students for a future where AI plays a significant role.

Teaching AI Literacy should begin with our youngest students. Students in grades K-5 can and should be introduced to AI by observing it in the world around them, and by learning how computers and robots “see” and interact with their environments. They can begin to develop their computational thinking skills to boost their problem-solving abilities and their creativity. This helps to ensure students can understand and use AI tools to the advantage of themselves and others throughout their lives.

VEX 123 and VEX GO offer powerful ways to introduce AI literacy. Learning about AI with a robot takes abstract concepts, like perception, computer learning, and the societal impact of AI, that are difficult to visualize, and makes them tangible and fun for K-5 students.

Why Teach AI Literacy to Young Learners?

AI is now an integral part of computer science and modern life. Teaching AI literacy from an early age ensures all students have equitable access to future careers in fields such as robotics, computer science, data analysis, and software engineering. This early exposure helps build a diverse and innovative workforce ready to embrace and shape technological advancements.

Students who learn about AI develop a deeper understanding of its potential for societal impacts, both positive and negative. Equipping students with this knowledge allows them to make informed decisions about their own use of AI, as well as to advocate for responsible technology use, contributing positively to their communities.

Also, exploring AI literacy through robotics nurtures essential skills such as computational thinking and problem-solving, including things like algorithmic thinking and pattern recognition. It also gives students an engaging environment in which to practice collaboration, learn about their own learning, and build their persistence and creativity.

Why Use Robots to Teach AI?

Teaching AI concepts can be challenging because they are inherently abstract. For example, elementary students need to understand how computer and human sensing, or perception, differ. Simply talking about these differences does not adequately illustrate this concept. However, having students use sensors on a robot to gather information from the environment, and interact with the data the sensor provides, gives students a concrete experience to understand how a computer can perceive the world.

Robots, like VEX 123 and VEX GO, are an easy way for teachers to provide hands-on, concrete AI literacy experiences for students. The ease of implementation with 123 and GO give teachers the power to provide fundamental AI literacy experiences for students that demystify AI, and empower students to use AI effectively.

Exploring AI Perception with VEX 123 and VEX GO

Perception—the extraction of meaning from sensory information—is a foundational AI concept that can be taught using the Eye Sensor on VEX 123 and VEX GO robots.

In a recent a co-design project¹ between VEX, the CS Everyone Center at the University of Florida, and the Woodland Hills School District, we collaborated to develop activities using 123 and GO to make learning about sensor perception hands-on and meaningful for young students.² These activities provide scaffolded, concrete experiences exploring how the Eye Sensor detects colors and reports information.

There are seven available Activities for each platform that introduce students to the concept of perception, helping them to develop an understanding of how computers perceive their world through sensors, and how computer perception differs from human perception.

In these Activities, the 123 or GO robot acts as a rover on an alien planet which is tasked with mapping the resources on this planet and finding clean, drinkable water. The activities are designed to be taught in order, as follows:

Bringing AI Literacy into Your Classroom

Teaching AI literacy with VEX 123 and VEX GO makes complex concepts accessible and exciting for young learners. By providing students with these early, hands-on experiences, educators can help to cultivate a generation equipped to think critically about and with AI, and encourage a future where AI serves humanity for the better.

Support your own learning about AI Literacy in the classroom by viewing the following keynote presentations from Carnegie Mellon University professor David Touretsky, PhD, at the VEX Robotics Educator Conference:

• Teaching AI in K-12 (2023)
• What does Play Look Like When Your Toys are Smarter than You? (2025)

Read more about the VEX approach to teaching about AI at teachai.vex.com.