Mai Vu, from refugee to the Innovation Center AI Program Manager

At the age of eight, Mai Vu, Program Manager for the St. Vrain Valley Schools Innovation Center's Artificial Intelligence (AI) Program, landed in Washington, D.C., from Vietnam. She recalled the stark contrast of arriving there in February, dressed in flip-flops and a dress, her first taste of the United States. Her father chose D.C. as it seemed like a safe haven from the looming threat of communism in Vietnam.

Her educational journey included graduating from the University of Maryland and attending law school at Northeastern University in Boston. After practicing international law in Taiwan, her program management experience brought her to the Innovation Center, where she serves as an AI program manager.

As the AI Program Manager at the Innovation Center, Vu helps determine what the AI pathway will look like and oversees initiatives integrating AI into various disciplines in schools within the St. Vrain Valley School District.

Vu helps prepare students for a rapidly evolving technological landscape. She said, "The students do not know that AI is already embedded in their lives. For example, Netflix recommendations, Spotify, and Instagram all have filters and algorithms built in that the students don't realize. I teach them how AI works. It is like looking under the hood of a car.

"Making it relatable is key for students by finding something they like and then teaching students about foundational concepts like the Turing Test in the age of advanced AI models."

The Turing test, originally called the imitation game by Alan Turing in 1949, is a test of a machine's ability to exhibit intelligent behavior equivalent to that of a human. Vu explained that with Open AI, versus the Turing test, it is difficult to distinguish between a human being and a machine. To help with this, she uses memes, a blend of humor and sarcasm, as an engaging way to teach students about the distinction between human-generated and AI-generated content.

ChatGPT said it faced challenges when dealing with humor and sarcasm due to the complexities of these forms of communication. ChatGPT said, "Humor and sarcasm often rely on shared cultural, situation, or historical contexts. In addition, puns, double meanings, and linguistic nuances are difficult for AI to interpret as they depend on a deep understanding of language beyond literal translation."

Vu offered another example of large organizations, like Google, employing AI alongside the capture-recapture method to distinguish between humans and machines. Many people are familiar with the CAPTCHA boxes, which we click on to access various programs. CAPTCHA, short for "Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart," is designed to differentiate between human users and automated bots.

Vu said, "When you click on the CAPTCHA box, Google goes through your browsing history and can determine whether you are human by looking at the mouse movement. Where machines go directly from point A to B, humans meander."

Innovation Center AI students have tackled real-world challenges, winning the gold medal at the 2022 World Artificial Intelligence Competition for Youth (WAICY). For the competition, the students, in collaboration with Boulder's Parks and Recreation Department, presented their approach to the conservation challenge of restoring an endangered fish species. The traditional method required significant manual labor to collect data and was constrained by cold weather. Workers would stun fish within a specific area and count those that surfaced. The students' solution was FishNET AI, which captured underwater footage of fish habitats and analyzed it through an AI model to identify the different fish.

In 2023, Malcolm Smith, a junior at Niwot High School, earned the bronze award at WAICY for his project, VexID. VexID is an AI-driven tool designed to assist young learners in understanding robotics parts by providing an image classifier-based system that identifies various components. This project aimed to enhance accessibility and support students and teachers in robotics education.

In 2024, Bernardo Garcia and Shaffer Piersol took second place at the WAICY for the AI Large Language Model Track called RadiantSkinAI. The project looked at the ethical considerations of the skin-care products and created a skin care program specific to teenagers, rather than depending on the advice of influencers. These projects exemplify how AI can address diverse challenges, from education equity to environmental conservation.

In addition to awards, Vu said that the Innovation Center is committed to ensuring students have equitable access to AI tools. She shared an example of a child with mutism who developed an AI model inspired by a Pokémon-based system he enjoyed. In this system, specific cards represented different needs, such as one indicating the need to go to the restroom. Another example featured a student with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder who designed a large language model to help her stay focused.

While AI offers transformative possibilities, Vu stresses that it can never replace the warmth of a teacher. Reflecting on the remote learning challenges of the pandemic, she said she understands the value of human connection in education.

She explained, "Our job is to help kids integrate AI as a tool, not fear it. We must equip them with the skills and ethics to use it wisely. Our mission is clear: to empower students to solve real-world problems with AI."

The Innovation Center's work is a testament to education's potential to shape the future.