Hi guys! Marina Ventura here… your adventurer into the wonders of the world! I’m on a mission to explore one of the biggest adventures of the 21st century… the world of Artificial Intelligence and how it can benefit our future energy. Wanna come too? Excellent!

We know that AI exists… but how does it LEARN? I mean, how does it go from knowing nothing to recognising faces, write songs or even beating world champions at chess?

Let’s imagine that AI is training to be a superhero. First up, our AI superhero needs DATA. That’s like a massive instruction manual. The more information it has, the better it can learn. For example, if it wants to have a super skill to identify… say birds, it needs to see millions of pictures of birds of all shapes and sizes to learn what individual types have in common and how they’re different.

And it’s not just pictures… Sounds, text, numbers… even the way you talk to a voice assistant becomes data! If our AI superhero wants to write the coolest song ever, it might study thousands of lyrics to spot patterns and melodies that work the best.

Once it’s got data, our AI superhero will start practicing skills, a bit like learning to play the guitar. At first, it makes mistakes…

Like you might have seen with strange pictures generated by earlier versions of AI, but with each try, it gets better. It adjusts, learns from its errors and improves. And the amazing thing is that whilst it might take us years to perfect that piano piece, AI can learn at a superfast rate. That’s machine learning in action!

AI learns by trial and error – just like us! But who tells the AI what to do? That’s where programming comes in. It’s like the superhero’s coach, giving step-by-step instructions: what to focus on, how to process data and how to spot patterns.

So programming gives AI the rules. But even then, AI needs people to guide it and check it’s learning safely and fairly… and make sure it doesn’t get things wrong. After all, after all puppies and cupcakes are both small and sweet, so AI might think they’re the same thing – but however sweet they are you probably wouldn’t want to find a puppy in your lunchbox!

Mistakes generally happen when data isn’t good enough. That’s why we need lots of accurate, fair and diverse data. If we ask AI for a delicious recipe for cake but the only ingredients our AI superhero has seen are from one shop, it might be missing out on all kinds of yummy combinations.

So, data is the manual, machine learning is the practice, and programming is the coach. Teamwork makes the dream work… and that dream could help with so many things: science, medicine, protecting animals… even helping the planet.

But as we’ve found, there’s still lots to think about – like keeping data private and making sure AI is kind, fair and honest. And that’s why ethics and responsibility are SUPER important. We want AI to reflect the best of humanity!

MARINA MISSION!

So now over to you! I want you to have a think about one way AI could help you and your family. How could AI help YOU relax or have fun? Hmm… could it make a bedtime story robot, or design a pillow that when it knows you’re tired, it plays calming music? Or maybe an AI bubble bath that picks your perfect scent and temperature!

Click here to find out how to enter