These Students Are Learning the Math That Makes AI Tick

When most educators teach about artificial intelligence, the goal is to help students use an existing technology, like ChatGPT or a bot integrated into an online program. But Clayton Dagler wants his students to create tailored AI tools.

In Dagler’s machine-learning class at Franklin High School in Elk Grove, Calif., students develop their own AI-powered models that can tackle real world problems, such as determining whether a mushroom is poisonous or safe to eat, or discerning a cancerous cell from a typical one.

“I am actually teaching the students how to build their own machine-learning AI models, as opposed to just simply using one that’s created by these huge companies,” Dagler said.