In the News: UCI Seeks National Benchmark for Children Learning AI (OCBJ)

The University of California, Irvine is studying the potential for artificial intelligence to improve learning among school children around the world.

Odgers is part of a team that is bringing together experts in computer science, technology and education to study the effect of technologies on children, such as whether it causes sleep deprivation. They are building a chatbot, conducting surveys and holding workshops.

They’ve already built a network of 1,000 scientists and are working with a university in South Africa and companies like Microsoft Corp.

Odgers co-leads a UCI program called Connecting the EdTech Research EcoSystem (CERES) along with Gillian Hayes, vice provost for graduate education and dean of the graduate division.

Their initiative in 2021 won a five-year, $11 million donation from the Jacobs Foundation, a Swiss-based nonprofit that invests in children to help them reach their potential.

Read the full story on the Orange County Business Journal’s website (subscription required).