November 16, 2025 • 47 mins
How AiDigiCards Help Kids Learn AI Safely ft. Amber Ivey | My EdTech Life 343
In Episode 343 of My EdTech Life, I sit down with Amber Ivey to explore AiDigiCards, a new screen-free way to introduce kids to AI literacy, curiosity, and critical thinking. Amber breaks down the journey from her AI-for-adults work, to her children’s book AI Meets AI, to her new hands-on learning system for kids ages 4–8.
We talk about parent concerns, privacy, LLM overreliance, ethical design, and why AI learning should start at the kitchen table, not on a tablet. If you're an educator, parent, or anyone thinking about the future of AI readiness for kids, this conversation is packed with insight and practical takeaways.
Timestamps
00:00 – Introduction
02:00 – Why Amber focuses on AI for kids
05:30 – From books to workshops
09:15 – Introducing AiDigiCards
10:30 – Why screen-free AI learning matters
12:00 – Parent concerns about AI
14:00 – Protecting curiosity and creativity
17:00 – The four C’s of AI literacy
21:00 – Kids spotting real vs fake
26:00 – “Are kids too young for AI?”
27:00 – Teach kids AI… or AI teaches them
29:00 – The problem with unsafe AI tools
35:00 – Amber’s personal journey
37:30 – What keeps her up (in a good way)
40:00 – AiDigiCards Kickstarter
46:00 – Thank you to our sponsors!
🔗 Learn more about AiDigiCards: https://aidigicards.com
🔗 Follow Amber Ivey: LinkedIn
🎧 Listen to Episode 317 (Amber’s first appearance)
A massive thank-you to our sponsors: Book Creator, use code MYEDTECHLIFE for 3 months of premium access.
Thank you EduAide, Yellowdig, and Peel Back Education for supporting these conversations.
Peel Back Education exists to uncover, share, and amplify powerful, authentic stories from inside classrooms and beyond, helping educators, learners, and the wider community connect meaningfully with the people and ideas shaping education today.
Authentic engagement, inclusion, and learning across the curriculum for ALL your students. Teachers love Book Creator.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Dr. Fonz Mendoza (00:10):
Hello, everybody, and welcome to
another great episode of My EdTech Life.
Thank you so much for joiningus on this wonderful day.
And wherever it is that you'rejoining us from around the
world, thank you as always foryour continued support.
We appreciate all the likes,the shares, the follows.
Thank you so much for engagingwith our content and sharing it
with others.
And I am so excited abouttoday's episode.
(00:31):
Obviously, our episodes aremade possible by our wonderful
sponsors.
And I want to give a big shoutout to Book Creator, EduAid,
Yellow Dig, and our newestsponsor, Peelback Education.
Thank you so much for believingin our mission to bring these
conversations to life to helpour educators continue to grow
professionally and personally aswell.
(00:53):
And if you're interested inbeing a sponsor, please make
sure you reach out to me atmyedtech.life at gmail.com.
And we can definitely get youon the show too as well.
But again, enough about that.
I am so excited about today.
We have a repeat guest.
And sometimes you may say,well, Fonz, we've already seen
that guest before on yourepisodes, but but you don't know
(01:15):
what happens between episode toepisode.
And this is why I am so excitedto welcome to the show Amber
Ivy, who is joining us, and shehas an amazing product project
that she has brought to life.
And it's something that isgoing to be a game changer for
our young kids here in the ageof AI.
(01:36):
So Amber was originally on hershow on March 17th of 2025 or
episode 317.
Look it up, we'll link itbecause you definitely need to
check that one out too as wellas we dive in deep.
But this one is more for melike a celebration, and I'm
celebrating the work that Amberis doing because it is truly
(01:56):
exciting.
So, Amber, welcome to the showagain.
How are you doing on thiswonderful evening?
Amber Ivey (02:02):
I am so excited to be here.
One, thank you for having meback.
I'm super excited to justupdate you on what's been going
on because a lot has happened insince March.
And I cannot believe we'realready in November and almost
at the holidays, but we are hereand I'm super excited to chat
with you today.
Dr. Fonz Mendoza (02:19):
Exactly.
And I'm excited too.
But before we dive in, Amber,because I am really excited, and
I know you and I are alreadywarmed up and ready to go for
this chat.
But uh before we dive intothat, there may be some new
listeners and that may not befamiliar with your work just
yet.
They haven't checked outepisode 317.
So if you can give us a littleintroduction and what your
(02:41):
context is within the educationAI space.
Amber Ivey (02:45):
So I have a weird background.
My background is in data andperformance management and AI,
but not for edutainment oreducation or ed tech, more so
for government.
So I started my work in thatspace and I've been helping
government use those tools tomake decisions for the people
they serve.
Then insert Chat GBT, um, thethe year, the month, November,
(03:07):
actually what, three years agonow, that changed all of our
lives.
Where um I immediately saw as Iwas talking about these things
for adults in my day job, andeven I had a podcast focused on
talking about these topics.
I saw immediately parents andadults had a weird reaction,
right?
As we get older, things get alittle bit more scary.
But I do know my niece, shesays, hey, Alexa, all the time,
(03:30):
and was talking to um AI and uhsmart speakers way before she
had access to a laptop or anyother smart device.
So I realized I probably neededto start a little bit earlier.
So I now focus on AI for adultsthrough my um day job, and then
at night, AI for kids.
Dr. Fonz Mendoza (03:48):
I love that.
And so that is very interestingbecause the two worlds that you
are working in have reallyhelped bring this to light and
just bring everything togetherfor you.
And I love the fact that as inyour working with adults, you're
taking a lot of those topics, alot with those skills, and the
way that you're able totranslate them and for for a
(04:12):
four-year-old, for aneight-year-old, for a
12-year-old, for some parents,and make it uh easy to
understand for them.
I think that that is somethingfantastic.
And you mentioned your podcast,and your podcast is great.
It is AI for kids.
If you haven't checked it out,make sure you check it out.
We'll link it in the shownotes.
Make sure you subscribe, or youcan also visit Amber's website
at AI Digitels, where you willfind all things AI uh for kids
(04:37):
and the work that Amber isdoing.
But Amber, going back to this,and I know you, you know, got
from the previous show, wetalked a little bit more about
obviously the importance ofteaching our students the ethics
of AI and using it properly.
And we've seen so much happenin that landscape.
But now you have come up with awonderful, uh, let's say,
(05:00):
non-screen-free way for studentsor young kids and parents to be
able to learn these concepts.
So tell us about this projectand what brought this to
fruition.
Amber Ivey (05:13):
So it all started for me back to when I told you
November happened.
So before all that, I don'tknow if I talked about this last
time we were on the podcast,but I had an AI for adult
podcast around AI.
My voice is also trained in anAI avatar.
Like, this is back in like 2021before it was cool.
And um, her name is Clara, andshe travels the world and she
(05:36):
was interacting with kids tohelp kids like get more access
to AI because the theory is areal human's voice, but it
sounds a little bit morerobotic.
So they asked me to be a boy.
So she travels the world fromhere to Dubai.
She was on Telemundo, like shelives a life.
So I've been in this space, letprojects on this space for some
time.
So 2022 happened November.
(05:57):
Everyone was like, This ishappening.
Let's ban it in schools orlet's um access it.
Like the pendulum for wherepeople were was all over the
place.
And in that moment, I realizedback to like my niece using
things like Alexa or playing insome of these tools like Roblox
that have AI integration, orthinking about Netflix or
YouTube that literally, sorry,there's like algorithms and AI
(06:20):
components in there that areactually like saying to our kids
what they should watch orshouldn't watch.
So I was like, I need to meetkids where they are.
And it's starting with thebook, AI Meets AI, about a
little girl named um Addy Iriswho meets a robot named Jazz,
who was lost from JHU.
I'm right near JSU, and JSU hassome amazing AI um labs there
(06:40):
and robotics labs.
And I really wanted kids to seethemselves as not just users
and hey, Alexa or okay, Googleof these technologies, but could
see themselves as creator.
The book did well.
I self-published, which is didwell shockingly, without a
publishing company.
So yes, still selling, stilldoing well in this category.
And then I was like, wait,something else needs to happen
(07:01):
here, which is where AIDigitales came from, which was
like, I want to talk about AIthrough stories.
Started that, started doingworkshops for kids, switching
from adults to kids.
And then also, same time, Istill do workshops in the day
for AI for adults as well, butalso started doing it for kids
in schools and things like that.
And then I was like, all right,the book is not enough.
(07:22):
What is next?
The workshops happen, thenlaunched the podcast, AI for
kids, which really focuses oninterviewing both adults and
kids about these technologiesand getting into like the
nitty-gritty of like, why is itgood?
Why is it bad?
How can you do it?
How can you use it?
And allowing kids anotherscreen-free way, because they're
just audio, screen-free way tohear and understand what it is.
(07:44):
And fast forward after that, Iwas like, okay, I can't be in
all places with these workshops,just not possible.
People may or may not find thebook as well, but what is
something else I can get intothe hands of folks?
And as I was interviewingpeople, and we also have a
series on our podcast that wewrap next Tuesday called The
ABCs of AI.
I was like, there's somethingthere.
And I had heard really goodfeedback from those um different
(08:06):
uh podcasts, how people playthem in their classroom, how
parents are learning.
Someone sent me a video oftheir four-year-old talking
about an algorithm.
First of all, I could not sayalgorithm at four.
This four-year-old could.
And I was like, all right,there's a there there.
So, like drum roll, please.
That's when I came up with theidea of something called AI
Digicars.
Now I know you're wonderingwhat's going on with all this
(08:29):
AI, Digi, Digi, or whatever.
AI Digitales, AI Digicars.
But what AI Digicars are,they're a screen-free way for
kids to be introduced to AIthrough um like storytelling,
activities, like, but take itaway from the screen.
We don't have to throw kids ona screen to learn about um AI.
(08:49):
Think about all the things welearned in school through in
theory classes where it was justreading a book.
Think about all the songs youlearn about, like, think about
Schoolhouse Rock.
How did you learn about a bill?
The first time you learnedabout a bill was through that
song, I'm just a bill, orwhatever it was, Barney cleanup
song.
A lot of things happen throughsong and activity that stick in
our mind.
Whereas something that we mayhave like learned in the book,
(09:12):
we can't say on page 365 of thisbiology book, I remember this
thing, but you do remember whatit means to like be in the lab
or be interactive.
So I'm like, we can do thatwith AI.
So let's start with the deck.
Our first deck is the ABCs ofAI, mostly because we were
already been talking about thetopic and we're offering kids
the ability to interact with AI,130 different cards, five cards
(09:34):
per letter in five differentmodalities because kids learn
differently.
And we're trying to keep theeducation and entertainment
together so that kids canremember this.
And we're like the we're thebeginning of this.
So as the kids get the conceptslater, like when we sung the
Bill song, we didn't know whatthe heck a Bill was or what was
going on.
But then when we got to likelater on in life, like, oh, I
know what this is and I canconnect it.
(09:56):
So we're like the verybeginning and basics of that.
First deck is ABCs of AI forkids ages four to eight, and we
hope to expand to nine to twelvein our next deck that's focused
on the ABCs as well.
Dr. Fonz Mendoza (10:07):
I love it.
And you know, one of the thingsthat I do want to highlight
that you did mention is thescreen time.
And you and I had talked abouta little bit warming up for the
chat, how parents are limitingthat screen time and are now
opting from the fancy, wonderfulcomputers, supercomputer
phones, and now going back towhat would be a flip phone or a
(10:29):
phone that is really restrictedas far as what the student can
access.
They may be able to access, youknow, just the important apps,
you know, the phone numbers andso on.
But I think that you doinginterviews, knowing parents,
hearing their thoughts, andseeing that many parents have
that, uh, I guess that fearbecause of what is happening.
(10:51):
And we hear a lot of storiesthrough, of course, character AI
and a lot of uh AI chatbots.
So being able to provide themwith a way to learn the
concepts.
And like you said, that takingthose hard concepts that you
would normally work with withadults and really, I guess,
molding them in such a way, notnecessarily dumbing them down
(11:14):
because that's not what we'redoing, but putting them and
packaging them in a way that afour to eight-year-old and a
parent can understand and theycan have conversations together
in multiple modalities and oractivities in multiple
modalities, I think is somethingthat is fantastic.
And I'd love to hear a littlebit more as far as for four
(11:35):
through eight-year-olds and theparents that would be using
these cards and interacting withthem at home, what would you
like to be their biggesttakeaway after, you know,
playing with the cards andlearning the concepts there?
Amber Ivey (11:50):
I think um, to your point of around the screen time,
I think a lot of people assumethat the only way for a kid to
learn about AI, which I see alot of adverse reactions to the
idea of AI for kids.
So normally people are like, AIfor kids, no, keep the AI away
from our kids, which Iunderstand 100%.
But for me, it's like the wayyou introduce it.
Should we hand a four-year-oldan app in a chat bot?
(12:13):
No, absolutely not.
Can we sit at the table andplay a game with the
four-year-old that talks aboutan algorithm or talks about
ethics or teaches them some ofthe basics of like what is an AI
robot or what have you, andhelp them think about like
things that could be fake onlineor whatever it is to help them
get early understanding?
We totally should.
And I understand parents, and Ihear this all the time, and
(12:35):
there's studies that showed usas well.
Parents are banning or reducingscreen time.
Like 70% of parents in a recentsurvey are reducing screen
time.
There's also these screen-freemovements.
Um, there are parents um incommunities, either to your
point, either in affluentcommunities, or who like even
Gen Z and Gen A are also saying,I want my life back.
Let's just have a regular flipphone, because in case of
(12:58):
emergencies, you should havethat.
We do not need to havesmartphones in um in classrooms.
I hear teachers complain allthe time about like having a
smartphone, they have to fightfor the attention of that.
The dopamine that's uh that'sbeing released and all these
things that we know arehappening with screen time
addiction, with the lonelinessepidemic, with these different
um apps that are like buildingrelationships with our kids.
(13:20):
Now they're in toys.
Like Mattel is about to put AIinto toys.
There's a bunch of little um AItools out there that exist,
right?
So if we know these things arecoming, we want to make sure
kids understand it.
I want to put this back intothe parents' hands and the kids'
hands for when they're readyand they can still learn about
these concepts.
So they don't feel like they'rebehind, but they allow them to
(13:41):
do it in a way that they'recomfortable with.
Like the thing I say is like AIlearning or AI literacy
literacy should start at thekitchen table, not on a tablet.
And right now, a lot of bootcamps will hand your kid a
tablet.
We don't want our kids in thoseecosystems, the data being
trained on them.
Our cards don't train on yourdata, our cards don't even know
who you are.
(14:01):
Like, unless you write yourname on it and you know whatever
it is, we have no idea, right?
And we will not have that dataon your family, but your family
will have a good experience.
And this is deck just deck oneof many that that are gonna
come.
Dr. Fonz Mendoza (14:44):
That is wonderful.
And I absolutely love that.
That again, you're you'reproviding a wonderful resource
for parents.
Uh, when I worked with parentsand we would do our technology
Tuesdays, and we would talkabout digital safety, digital
citizenship, all of thosethings, it it's the parents,
there is a need there, butsometimes they feel overwhelmed
(15:04):
because they don't know where tostart.
There is so much information.
But when you're able tocondense it and be able to
provide them with whetherliterature or some resources
that they can go ahead and takein and have those conversations
with their child, I think that'ssomething that's fantastic.
And here they have somethingthat is ready-made where it is
(15:26):
not something that is veryominous to them and very scary
to them that they will feeluncomfortable with.
It's something that they canall do together.
And like you said, sitting atthe kitchen table together as a
family, going through the cards.
A is for algorithm, you know, Qis for quantum, you know, and
things of that sort.
And talking about that wherelater on, as the students
(15:49):
continue to grow and parents arelistening to the news or
listening to whatever's outthere, they start making those
connections too, as well, likeyou did mention before.
And so I love that that thecards will also, you know, pique
uh parent and child'scuriosity, their creativity, but
will also help them in theirconfidence as well.
(16:09):
So I want to, yeah.
So I want to ask you, you know,was that the idea to link these
three things uh into AIliteracy?
Because right now, at least inthe world that I'm in in the
education space, and I know youhear it too, the term AI
literacy, but but there's somany definitions, and sometimes
you're like, like, what doesthis even mean?
It's you say it's like you saya word so many times that it
(16:32):
loses its meaning and you don'tknow what it is.
But kind of like I want to askyou, you know, I because I think
like the curiosity, creativity,and that confidence component
really build nicely into thethis wonderful exercise in AI
literacy.
Amber Ivey (16:46):
100%.
The one of the things I hearthe most from parents or
teachers, this is also forteachers though, like having the
classroom, and I know teachersare really excited about it as
well, but I hear they're afraidof, I call them the four C's.
They're afraid of AI taking thecuriosity, AI taking away
confidence, AI taking umcritical thinking.
I forgot my other C.
There's another C there.
Dr. Fonz Mendoza (17:08):
Collaboration, curiosity.
Amber Ivey (17:10):
Yes, curiosity is the four C.
They're afraid of AI takingthose things.
And in reality, like we'reseeing early studies that show
like critical thinking does goaway.
These other things do go awaywhen we use AI and rely on it
too much.
And AI, in this sense, I'msaying talking about LLMs, there
are a lot of different types ofLL, excuse me, AI, but LLMs is
like the main one that we're alltalking about right now.
(17:32):
So, how can we make sure thatkids using AI or learning about
AI and LLMs or these other umfoundational components to the
AI that is publicly open to us,how do we make sure to be
flipping on its head?
So for us, instead of takingaway curiosity, critical
thinking, confidence, um, and Iforgot my fourth C.
(17:53):
I will get it later.
But we've taken away these, theC's, we flip it on its head to
make sure that we give thatback.
So think about if you have adefinition car, there's a
definition up there.
But the thing that's reallycool about it is beyond the
definition that's easy tounderstand for a kid or a
parent, the parent doesn't haveto feel like anxiety, like
helping a kid.
I remember like thinking abouthelping a kid with a homework
(18:15):
and homework and seeing thatthings have changed since we
went to school.
And then like math is new.
Like if I hear about new mathone more time, I'm gonna, in my
head, it's gonna explode.
But like how kids are doingthings are different.
Our cars that doesn't matter.
You can be a parent who's neverunderstood AI concept.
You can talk about thedefinition, and under every
single activity, definition, orwhatever the main modality is
for the card, there's a questionor something that you can do
(18:39):
that further enhances that, thatallows the conversation to
continue so that every time youinteract, it could be a
different discussion andwhatever.
And that allows the card deckto continue to grow with the
kid.
The other piece I didn't say umis that at some point, parents
do want their kids to getonline, right?
Or um we also target this forkids who do not have access to
(19:00):
screens.
So this is for individuals whodon't want their kids to be on
screens or who do not haveaccess, right?
But when we get to the pointwhere you think your kids are
ready or your access increases,we have digital expansion packs
that are coming on board aswell.
So then you can go online and avery um like working with
partners who we trust and anddifferent um modalities or not
(19:22):
modalities, different um toolsand things that we trust for you
to try things out with your kidin a very secure and safe
environment when you're ready.
But that's totally optional.
You can still learn about allthe AI concepts without ever
going online.
So that's what I'm excitedabout.
And um, I just can't wait toget it in the hands of human
beings and have kids out thereplaying around and testing them.
Dr. Fonz Mendoza (19:44):
And that's something that's very exciting
because I think that this issomething so refreshing.
Because again, going back andtalking to about screen time,
and I myself, you know, workingas uh an assessment coordinator.
I mean, talk about screen time.
The students have to practicecontinually on computers, a lot
of the curriculum, a lot of thebooks.
Uh like pretty much it's likeyou're you're on a Chromebook
(20:06):
all day long for the most part.
And as teachers, like youmentioned before, having to
fight for that attention andbeing able to, I mean, it's it's
almost like really like you'recreating TikTok videos like
right then on the spot, becauseyou have three seconds to get
them hooked into what you'redoing and probably about five
minutes at most of attentionspan.
(20:26):
And then, all right, let's go.
But uh, I mean, havingsomething like this, and and
again, now with this youngergeneration and these four and
eight-year-olds that may getthese hands on these cards, or
four through eight-year-oldsthat may get the hands in these
cards and the parents, I thinkthat this is something fantastic
now because then a lot of thosestudents are already going to
learn the concepts, they'relearning actively.
(20:49):
And again, once as theycontinue to grow and move
through school, and then ofcourse, the uh availability of
those expansion packs where nowthat card can come to life as
in, for example, where I'mlearning about algorithm here.
What does that look like on acomputer, on a computer program,
and things of that sort, andunderstanding those things.
(21:09):
And then you really start tobuild that literacy, not only
just the knowledge of thedefinition, but also being able
to see it in action.
And I think that that issomething that is fantastic.
That as they continue to growand mature, you know, the
parents might feel still alittle bit better that their
child at an early age knows thedifference or can tell, maybe
(21:32):
just even outputs, understandinglike what is a real output,
what is not a real output.
Amber Ivey (21:37):
That is one of our works.
Dr. Fonz Mendoza (21:38):
Yeah.
And especially now, Amber, withthe way that video is getting
that for many young, youngadults that are and young kids
that are have been on living onYouTube for a very long time,
even for them, it's very hard totell what is real and what is
not.
And so I'm glad that there is awonderful resource, a tool that
(21:59):
parents can use and worktogether with their parents.
So I want to ask you too, justbe on your experience, because I
know that there was a lot ofresearch that had to have gone
into producing these cards andtalking to a lot of parents and
so on.
So, within that scope, whatwere some of the more surprising
ethical or privacy concernsthat you might have observed or
(22:22):
heard from parents when, youknow, you're talking about the
cards and what they can do.
So tell us a little bit aboutthat just so we can, as
educators, also hear a littlebit about what parents are
thinking.
Amber Ivey (22:34):
So I'm gonna think one of the, let me answer the
surprise, and I'll talk aboutsome of the other things I
heard.
One of the things that'sinteresting is like this hype
around AI.
Um, and also around the hype,like parents are a little bit
concerned because their kidsknow more than them, which I
don't think is a bad thing, andwhat that means.
So, because of the hype andbecause AI is integrating a lot
(22:56):
of their devices, parents areliterally saying, like, hey, my
kid is using this thing.
I don't know what they'redoing.
They know it better than me.
I've also seen this like on theground, um, doing like live
workshops with kids.
I can show them an image, avideo, they're more likely to
identify a fake than an adult,which is good.
And it's actually amazing.
(23:16):
I think we don't give kids asmuch credit as we should.
And this is like, I'm nottalking about middle schoolers,
like this is in even myelementary um classes where kids
literally, when I do the samelike type of test with adults to
kids, kids get it right moreoften.
So I think we don't give kidsas much credit.
They're growing up in thisworld, a little bit more
skeptical.
(23:36):
They kind of know.
And then I ask them, I'm like,how do you know this isn't AI?
They're able to, or this is AIor is real.
It has this, it has thelighting is wrong.
I'm like, the lighting iswrong.
Second grade.
Or um, if you look at thewhiskers of the cat, like a cat
would and a cat would never letyou get that close.
Like the different images Ishow.
You could never take a pictureof a cat.
And I'm sitting here like,okay, we think that is that they
(24:00):
don't get it, but that's theonly world they know.
And I think we forget that whenyou grow up in the world that
you're presented, you adjust toit.
And I think the kids have donean amazing job of adjusting to
it.
However, along the same side ofthings, is I am learning that
kids aren't treating it likethey should in certain ways.
(24:20):
And that um, like I always andI've talked to people about
this, but my rule is like takethe old school rules and apply
them to apply them to thetechnology.
What I mean by that, you learnvery early on, offline, don't
talk to strangers, don't giveout your address, don't send
anyone your image, don't like doany of those things.
Same things apply to an AItool.
(24:40):
So don't talk to strangers inAI means don't go download an
app that you don't know anythingabout and no one has vetted.
That's a stranger, you don'tknow who that is.
Don't don't take a picture ofyour face to put into a
different tool.
Don't share your address, don'tdo any of those things.
So it's also like um parentsare trying to figure out how to
take those skills that theyalready shared and brought it
(25:02):
in.
And the other piece is thatkids have been doing this
forever.
When there's a bunch of rulesaround something, kids are gonna
figure out how to get around itand they're gonna share how to
get around it.
And parents are spending a lotof time on a lot of different
threads and a lot of differentcommunity groups as well, where
parents are spending a bunch oftime like trying to share each
(26:05):
other the tips that the kidshave already figured out.
It's actually better if we justtalk to the kid and like make
it an open space for them toshare what's happening and for
that dialogue to happen, andyou'll go much further.
The parents who I've seen likegive access with with protection
around it have seen betteroutcomes with those um different
things that we're dealing within this generation.
(26:26):
But the main one that's mostsurprising to me is they get it
way better than we do, even atelementary school level.
Dr. Fonz Mendoza (26:32):
That is great.
And that's so good to hear, youknow.
And again, because you'reabsolutely right.
Sometimes we don't give ourstudents, you know, that that
benefit that they do or cantell.
I mean, right now, when youmentioned that as far as
lighting, I was like, I wouldhave never thought of maybe even
looking at lighting or focusedon, you know, from my era, from
what I know, and I may miss it.
(26:54):
And they don't because theythey know the video games, the
way the lighting works, whateverit is.
Oh, sure.
And so, yeah, very true.
The other thing that I love isthe the way that you talked
about, you know, creating anopen space and just to be able
to have a discussion, that safespace where let's talk about
these questions.
And again, going to back to thecards, being able to open that
(27:15):
up and have those discussions.
But I want to ask you too, inin your experience, what what
are some of the things that youwould like to dispel or to
correct for educators andparents when they say, AI for
kids, wait, wait, no way.
Like they're too young, they'lllearn it later.
What are some things that youwish that you can share with a
(27:36):
lot of parents or educators?
And right now is the time to doit on our podcast.
Amber Ivey (27:40):
So I will say this um the federal government at the
federal government level isreally pushing for AI literacy.
We have a bunch of differentcurriculum that are out there.
We also use some of thiscurriculum in our actual cars as
well.
We don't consider ourselves aneducation tool.
We're an edutainment tool.
So both you're introduced toit, but also you're entertained
and interacting in that way.
So um curriculum like day, umday of AI, um, AI for K12, like
(28:07):
those different curriculums areout there for those who are a
little bit nervous about that.
The thing I would say to yourdirect question is you can
either teach them AI or AI wouldteach them about AI.
So we can choose either onebecause in the real, the reality
is we all know that if you andI talk about any uh product
(28:27):
right now, and there's an ad onmy phone, as soon as we open our
phone, if you have your um micon for certain apps, we will
have a product uh that'sscrolling and telling us.
Now imagine when private sectoror big tech companies are
deciding they want your kids andtheir attention because the
reality is, and this issomething that I think is
(28:47):
important that I've learned evenbefore this, is that when you
get a kid at a young age, youhave them as a customer for
life.
What do I mean by that?
How many of us are now asmillennials or whatever Gen X,
Gen Y, boomers or whatever, howmany people are going back to
find the things they got fromtheir childhood?
Or how many people are goingnow to show their kids Aladdin
(29:09):
live action because that's alsowhat they what they um watch
growing up?
And how many people have spentso much money trying to relive
your childhood because theyrealize if I get you as a kid, I
have you for life.
Animals from childhood rightnow are going on eBay for
hundreds of dollars.
I wish I would have saved.
Save my stuffed animals.
So you have Google, you haveChat GPT, you have all these
(29:35):
different um AIs, even Grok, whoshould not be in the kid
business, not dissing grokanyway, but they shouldn't be in
the kid business.
They have other stuff they gotgoing on.
But all these different toolsare going to kids because if
they catch a kid at this age,they have a customer for life.
And at the end of the day, itstarted as research, but it is
really about money now.
So if we know that, we need tomake sure that we are helping
(29:58):
those kids who are now going tobe targeted with ads that know
you better than your mother,that know you better than
yourself.
We need to make sure they knowwhat is happening.
Cause even now as adults, we'regetting um like we're getting
trapped into it.
And we're watching certainshows because Netflix told us
what to watch.
And now all of our, all of ourNetflix shows are 99% of what we
(30:19):
watch are YouTube, or we've nowbought thousands of dollars
worth of stuff because of ads.
Like now put that in the handsof a kid.
Um, so we want to make surekids know about AI before AI
knows them and before AI startsto tell it about itself.
We need to make sure they know.
And I I take that stance.
And I don't think it has tohappen with a tablet.
(30:39):
I think there's ways, there'sbooks.
There are people who are alsogetting into the screen free
movement to try to help kids.
And I hope more people get intothis movement for AI in
particular.
Um, like for example, Chat GPTis gonna come out with a, if
they haven't already, a um,which I agree or don't disagree,
we're not gonna talk aboutthat.
But it's a um a version ofchat, um, chat GPT that's just
(31:00):
like a box that you can talkinto.
Some other AI companies havetried it as well.
I think one was called Rabbitin the past, but they're trying
to come out with these thingsthat aren't screen free.
There's also a necklace calledFriend that kind of follows you.
I don't think you should callAI a friend, um, but there are
certain things I don't agreewith.
With but there are these toolsthat are coming that are screen
free, but they still collect abunch of data.
(31:20):
How can you make sure you givekids access to this without the
data?
And the reality is everyone isselling an AI app now.
Everyone has overlaid some UXor user interface or user
experience that's exciting ontop of mostly Chat GPT or these
other LLMs.
It's still ChatGPT.
It wasn't built for a kid.
And that's an area of aproblem.
(31:42):
If you're going to introducekids in your classroom to AI or
if your school district is goingto do it, it needs to be an AI
that was built for kids, not awrapper, meaning a tool that's
just using Chat GPT with adifferent wrapper on the
outside.
We should never do that.
Check with those companies tomake sure it was built for kids
in mind.
It has all the umcertifications it needs and use
(32:04):
that.
But ChatGPT with an edutainmentor excuse me, education or ed
tech um overlay on it for kidsis the wrong approach.
So teachers, I get that, butmake sure they're doing the
right things as they build thesetools out for your kids.
Dr. Fonz Mendoza (32:16):
Absolutely.
And I think that's somethingthat you brought up a great
point there.
And that is something that fromthe very beginning, as as you
know, November 20, 2022, youknow, when this started coming
out, I really got into justlooking at terms of service and
things of that sort.
And as we know, a lot of theplatforms do connect to Chat
GPT, they connect to Cloud, theyconnect to other uh large
(32:39):
language models.
And again, like you mentioned,it's just something that is
overlaid over those models thatalthough those models will tell
you this is not for anybodyyounger than 18, then but on the
wrapper itself, it'll say, oh,it's safe for students from 11
to 18 or whatever the case is.
But you're absolutely right, itis still overlaid upon ChatGPT.
(33:01):
However, because of the writingand everything, you know, I I
don't know how many, how thechecks that really go into a new
app when it just they cansimply write, hey, I've got
COPA, FERPA, I've got all ofthat.
And then all of a suddenschools just see those initials
and they're like, oh, okay, herewe go.
We're good to go.
And maybe the data storageisn't even in the US and it's
(33:23):
overseas.
So now where is your datagoing?
So there's definitely a lot ofthings to think about there.
But I love the fact that youare doing something great for
that future that is here.
The the students that arecoming in that are going to be
having or be have be exposed tothis at a lot younger age than
(33:43):
we were.
Now they're gonna be betterprepared.
Their parents are gonna bebetter prepared.
And I think that that issomething that is great, that we
are preparing them as opposedto before uh, you know, a lot of
people is just ban it, ban italtogether, keep it away.
It's not gonna go away, butwhat can we do to help our
(34:04):
students just really understandthe risks and how it works and
so on?
So that's why I've always said,like, I've always been a
cautious advocate and just kindof being in the middle.
And sometimes when I feel likeI'm leaning to like, yes, this
is it, this is going, and thenall of a sudden you see
something in the news, and I'mlike, all right, I'm right back
over here, you know.
But but it's okay.
(34:25):
And that's what theseconversations are about.
And this is what is wonderfulabout what you are doing, Amber,
and the work that you're doing.
I I love the fact that what youare doing through the cards,
the students are now gonna haveexposure to the terminology,
they're gonna have exposure tothe language, the vocabulary
that is a continue to grow andprogress.
(34:47):
And of course, the technologycontinues to grow and progress.
They have a betterunderstanding.
And like you mentioned earlier,at that young age, now they're
gonna be able to make andconnect those dots.
And it's gonna be somethingthat is fantastic.
So I love it.
I love the work that you'redoing.
But Amber, I just kind of wantto flip it on you a little bit.
We're we're gonna change thisbecause I just want to ask you,
(35:09):
you know, as a personalreflection, and maybe I might
catch you off guard with thisquestion, but and the reason
that I asked this is becausefrom the first time that you
were on the show back in uh showepisode March episode 317, till
now, you know, we're gettingclose to December.
You know, you've done a lot andyou've brought a lot of great
content for young kids, um, youknow, bringing in adults for to
(35:32):
be able to speak, you know, toyoung kids through your podcast
and your book.
But did you ever imagine, youknow, yourself as as a kid in
the whole pre-AI era when wewere, you know, still with or I
was playing with Transformersand I was playing with Hot
Wheels and so on.
But did you ever imagine thatyou would be working within this
(35:53):
space in this intersection ofwhere you are working with data
analytics, AI, and now you'redoing AI literacy for kids.
Did you ever imagine yourselfdoing that?
And if not, like how do youfeel about it now?
Amber Ivey (36:10):
So the funny thing is, I never imagined that one,
but when I look at it, all theskill sets I have make sense.
So I've always struggled with,like, for example, I told you
during my day job I do this workfor government, but even like
for for the last in BaltimoreCity in particular, that's why I
live high, folks.
(36:30):
Um, in Baltimore City inparticular, I've been
volunteering with the NationalUrban League since 2012.
And in that, we have thisprogram called the Saturday
Leadership Program, as well as afew other programs that focus
on helping kids to see all thebeautiful universities here at
um it within um Baltimore.
We have so many universities.
So we take kids um over theschool year to different uh
(36:53):
universities to help themselvessee, help see themselves there.
So I've always had an interestin kids and the next generation
um and always been focused onkids in that way.
And I've always had a creativebrain.
So data is logical and but alsoallows me to be creative if I'm
doing things around likevisualizations.
But I finally feel like all myskill sets can come together now
(37:13):
that I have the AI for kidscomponent.
Did I see myself here?
No.
We're all the components andall the breadcrumbs there, 100%.
Dr. Fonz Mendoza (37:21):
I love it.
That is fantastic.
And then just one more questionbefore we wrap up as a just a
kind of personal reflection.
And I've asked this questionbefore to previous guests, but I
I would definitely uh with thework that you've done, and uh,
you know, I think that I wouldlove to hear your answer on
this.
So I want to ask you what keepsyou up at night in a good way
(37:41):
about AI, kids, and education,and what excites you the most?
I thought you were gonna ask mea bad way.
Amber Ivey (37:49):
I was like, oh, so what keeps me up in at night in
a good way is that it's notgonna be a good way.
It's gonna be a good way,kinda.
Um, let me let me say that.
So I the thing that keeps me upat night, like if I'm being
real about just that power ofthe question without the good
way, is that kids have differentlevels of access to technology.
(38:10):
Um, my background as a kid, andboth my parents were military,
moved around a lot.
And I saw very early on, everytime we moved to a different zip
code, there were very differentoutcomes for kids.
Um, very different technologythat was available in our
schools.
And technology can mean even abook, right?
That's a form of a technologyif you look at it that way.
Um, and when AI came out, I wasjust like, what really led to
(38:34):
that first book is like, I wantkids to make sure they're ready
for this because AI can be used,which is the good thing about
what keeps me up at night.
AI can be used to close so manygaps, to help kids explore, to
help people who are already likecreating companies and like
able to sustain their familiesusing these tools.
Like, there's so much goodthere.
But the flip side is if wedon't get it right, we're gonna
(38:55):
leave a whole lot of peoplebehind.
And this could be a great umbridge.
So that's what keep me up atnight is like this thing can
solve a lot of our problems thatwe've had in society, and we
have to do that right.
And I'm really excited aboutthe potential of that happening.
And then um thank you.
And then just in general, isjust I really want to make sure
(39:16):
that all kids, and I this is oneof my other taglines, all kids,
no matter their zip codes, havethe ability to get introduced
to AI in a way that'sscreen-free, that protects their
curiosity, their creativity,their critical thinking, and
their confidence and allows themto be the best little humans
they can be.
Um, I also say this because wedon't want robots, we want kids.
So let kids be kids, notrobots.
(39:38):
And that's so important to me.
And I think that with AI andwith what I'm creating with AI
Digicars, we have a chance to dothat, as well as others who are
thinking about screen-freeoptions for kids.
Dr. Fonz Mendoza (39:48):
Excellent.
Well, Amber, this has been afantastic conversation.
I am so excited and sothrilled.
Just again, the work thatyou've done up until this point,
the work that you continue todo and this mission that you are
or are on is something that iswonderful.
And I really appreciate that wehave fine educators like
yourself that are doing thesethings because it's something
(40:09):
that is so important.
And, you know, just trying toget in the front, in front of
all of this and being able tohelp out those parents and being
able to help out those youngkids through your book, through
your podcast, and now throughAI, Digicards.
So I want to ask, though,because I know that this was on
Kickstarter.
Uh, we will link this in theshow notes as well.
But I know that may I I'm notsure the way Kickstarter works.
(40:31):
So do we still have you knowtime for any listeners to really
get in and be able to purchaseor be able to back your project?
Tell us a little bit aboutthat.
Amber Ivey (40:41):
Yes.
So we're on Kickstarter.
We got funded within 13 hours.
So that means we're goingprint.
So I'm really excited aboutthat.
So we have 19 more days left inour Kickstarter.
It actually ends on mybirthday, December 3rd.
Happy birthday early birthdayto me.
Um, so make sure you check itout.
But the thing about theKickstarter is it's to allow us
to fund that first um set ofcards.
(41:03):
We're now working on ourstretch goal since we hit the
first goal, which is to get tothose um digital expansion
packs, which I'm really excitedabout.
But if you go on Kickstarterright now and you choose one of
the um different levels that hasa card deck in it, you'll get
the card deck.
There's also the ability forpeople who may say, Hey, I don't
have kids in my life, but Iwant to gift it to a school.
There's ability to back aclassroom, back a school, or
(41:26):
just get a pack to send tosomeone.
It also comes with a posterthat also have the ABCs of AI
that can be printed out.
Um it comes with like a coollittle uh luggage, luggage or
book bag tag.
Um, each one comes with adifferent thing.
And for everyone who backs us,you will have your name either
via a QR code depending on thelevel or your name actually on a
card within every single deck.
(41:47):
So people will be able to seethat you actually help back this
and make it come to life.
And I'm really excited aboutthat.
So, yes, depending on the day,as long as it's before December
3rd that this comes out, pleasego to our Kickstarter
Kickstarter and then um chooseuh where you want to back us.
And these cards are going toprint.
Our hope is that we'll havethem to you all by early next
(42:07):
year.
Dr. Fonz Mendoza (42:08):
Excellent.
Well, I'm excited.
I know I saw the project.
I was like, all right, I'm in.
I definitely want to supportjust a wonderful, wonderful
mission that you are doing.
So I'm really excited aboutthat.
And I'm excited that it's gonnabe autographed too as well.
So I'm not gonna lie, I'm notgonna lie.
I'm really excited about thattoo.
But that's fantastic.
Amber, again, thank you so muchfor being on the show.
(42:29):
And again, before we wrap up,here are three lightning round
questions.
So here we go.
Question number one (42:33):
as we know, every superhero has a pain
point or weakness.
So for Superman, kryptonite washis weakness and I guess his
pain point.
So I want to ask you, Amber, inthe current state of we'll say
AI in education, what would yousay would be your current
kryptonite?
Amber Ivey (42:52):
That is hard.
Um, I would say it's balancingthe benefit of the technology
with the default.
And for me, it's like thiswhole idea of deep fakes, as I
told you all earlier, my voiceis on an AI.
So my kryptonite right now islike using people's voices when
they didn't get permission.
I gave permission for mine, myvoice is licensed, but now
(43:15):
people are being able to take itand use it in different ways.
And I think that actually takesaway from it and doesn't make
the AI movement as strong whenthings like that are happening.
Dr. Fonz Mendoza (43:24):
All right, good answer.
Thank you.
Question number two if youcould have a billboard, and
we'll say they're in right smackin the middle of Baltimore,
with and that your billboardcould have anything on it, what
would it be and why?
Amber Ivey (43:36):
It would literally probably say one of the quotes I
said earlier, it would say, allkids deserve access, no matter
their zip code.
And that's access to AI, accessto math, access to cool
learning labs, access to allthings.
Like we live in a generationwhere we have all this
technology.
If we have it, let's make surewe give kids access to do what
(43:57):
it is they need to do or theinformation they need to at
least get it for themselves.
Dr. Fonz Mendoza (44:00):
Excellent.
Great answer.
And the last question, Amber,if you could trade places with a
single person for a day, whowould that be and why?
Amber Ivey (44:09):
I would say Mackenzie Scott, mainly because
she is giving out so much moneyto so many different
organizations, and like they'renot even having to ask for it.
I just want to be in her shoesto just see like what is her
thought process, how is shefinding these organizations?
She's given, um, for folks whodon't know, she is her husband
(44:31):
is a former, former, herex-husband is a former or is a
current tech exec, and she got alot of money through their
divorce.
And she has been doing so muchstuff for H recus, woman,
women-owned businesses, like umminority-owned businesses.
She's just cutting checks thatthey've never seen before.
Put me in those for a day justto see how she does it and how
(44:52):
she gets there.
I think it's so cool to havethat type of impact and giving
money out at that level that'schanging, changing lives,
changing students' lives, and isreally helping a lot of
universities as well, especiallyI'm in the current funding
environment.
Dr. Fonz Mendoza (45:04):
Excellent.
Well, that is a great answer.
So, Amber, thank you so muchagain for being a guest on our
show.
And again, it's an honor tohave you here.
Again, I am a big fan of yourwork.
And please make sure to all ourlisteners, if you do not follow
Amber yet, please make surethat you check out the link in
the show notes.
Make sure you make sure youfollow on LinkedIn, make sure
(45:25):
you follow on Instagram,subscribe to the pod because it
is fantastic.
So if you are an educator foreducation professional and
you're listening to this and youhave kids, I will definitely
put this on on road trips andallow your kids to listen to it
because you will find somewonderful content for them.
Make sure you check out thebook too as well, and be on the
lookout for those AI Digicards.
(45:45):
So again, Amber is doing somewonderful things where, like she
mentioned earlier, she cannotbe at all the places, but she
can definitely bring thatknowledge and passion and that
vision to all the places throughall these multiple means for
your students.
So again, Amber, thank you somuch.
And for all our audiencemembers, please make sure you
visit our website,myedtech.life, or you can check
(46:07):
out this amazing episode and theother 342 episodes.
So I promise you, you will finda little something there that,
or little knowledge there, thatyou can sprinkle onto what you
are already doing great.
And again, a big shout out toour sponsors.
Thank you so much, BookCreator, Edu8, Yellow Dig,
Peelback Education.
It really means the world to methat you believe in our mission
(46:28):
to bring these greatconversations into our space.
And again, my friends, untilnext time, don't forget, stay
techy.
Hello, everybody, and welcome to
another great episode of My EdTech Life.
Thank you so much for joiningus on this wonderful day.
And wherever it is that you'rejoining us from around the
world, thank you as always foryour continued support.
We appreciate all the likes,the shares, the follows.
Thank you so much for engagingwith our content and sharing it
with others.
And I am so excited abouttoday's episode.
(00:31):
Obviously, our episodes aremade possible by our wonderful
sponsors.
And I want to give a big shoutout to Book Creator, EduAid,
Yellow Dig, and our newestsponsor, Peelback Education.
Thank you so much for believingin our mission to bring these
conversations to life to helpour educators continue to grow
professionally and personally aswell.
(00:53):
And if you're interested inbeing a sponsor, please make
sure you reach out to me atmyedtech.life at gmail.com.
And we can definitely get youon the show too as well.
But again, enough about that.
I am so excited about today.
We have a repeat guest.
And sometimes you may say,well, Fonz, we've already seen
that guest before on yourepisodes, but but you don't know
(01:15):
what happens between episode toepisode.
And this is why I am so excitedto welcome to the show Amber
Ivy, who is joining us, and shehas an amazing product project
that she has brought to life.
And it's something that isgoing to be a game changer for
our young kids here in the ageof AI.
(01:36):
So Amber was originally on hershow on March 17th of 2025 or
episode 317.
Look it up, we'll link itbecause you definitely need to
check that one out too as wellas we dive in deep.
But this one is more for melike a celebration, and I'm
celebrating the work that Amberis doing because it is truly
(01:56):
exciting.
So, Amber, welcome to the showagain.
How are you doing on thiswonderful evening?
Amber Ivey (02:02):
I am so excited to be here.
One, thank you for having meback.
I'm super excited to justupdate you on what's been going
on because a lot has happened insince March.
And I cannot believe we'realready in November and almost
at the holidays, but we are hereand I'm super excited to chat
with you today.
Dr. Fonz Mendoza (02:19):
Exactly.
And I'm excited too.
But before we dive in, Amber,because I am really excited, and
I know you and I are alreadywarmed up and ready to go for
this chat.
But uh before we dive intothat, there may be some new
listeners and that may not befamiliar with your work just
yet.
They haven't checked outepisode 317.
So if you can give us a littleintroduction and what your
(02:41):
context is within the educationAI space.
Amber Ivey (02:45):
So I have a weird background.
My background is in data andperformance management and AI,
but not for edutainment oreducation or ed tech, more so
for government.
So I started my work in thatspace and I've been helping
government use those tools tomake decisions for the people
they serve.
Then insert Chat GBT, um, thethe year, the month, November,
(03:07):
actually what, three years agonow, that changed all of our
lives.
Where um I immediately saw as Iwas talking about these things
for adults in my day job, andeven I had a podcast focused on
talking about these topics.
I saw immediately parents andadults had a weird reaction,
right?
As we get older, things get alittle bit more scary.
But I do know my niece, shesays, hey, Alexa, all the time,
(03:30):
and was talking to um AI and uhsmart speakers way before she
had access to a laptop or anyother smart device.
So I realized I probably neededto start a little bit earlier.
So I now focus on AI for adultsthrough my um day job, and then
at night, AI for kids.
Dr. Fonz Mendoza (03:48):
I love that.
And so that is very interestingbecause the two worlds that you
are working in have reallyhelped bring this to light and
just bring everything togetherfor you.
And I love the fact that as inyour working with adults, you're
taking a lot of those topics, alot with those skills, and the
way that you're able totranslate them and for for a
(04:12):
four-year-old, for aneight-year-old, for a
12-year-old, for some parents,and make it uh easy to
understand for them.
I think that that is somethingfantastic.
And you mentioned your podcast,and your podcast is great.
It is AI for kids.
If you haven't checked it out,make sure you check it out.
We'll link it in the shownotes.
Make sure you subscribe, or youcan also visit Amber's website
at AI Digitels, where you willfind all things AI uh for kids
(04:37):
and the work that Amber isdoing.
But Amber, going back to this,and I know you, you know, got
from the previous show, wetalked a little bit more about
obviously the importance ofteaching our students the ethics
of AI and using it properly.
And we've seen so much happenin that landscape.
But now you have come up with awonderful, uh, let's say,
(05:00):
non-screen-free way for studentsor young kids and parents to be
able to learn these concepts.
So tell us about this projectand what brought this to
fruition.
Amber Ivey (05:13):
So it all started for me back to when I told you
November happened.
So before all that, I don'tknow if I talked about this last
time we were on the podcast,but I had an AI for adult
podcast around AI.
My voice is also trained in anAI avatar.
Like, this is back in like 2021before it was cool.
And um, her name is Clara, andshe travels the world and she
(05:36):
was interacting with kids tohelp kids like get more access
to AI because the theory is areal human's voice, but it
sounds a little bit morerobotic.
So they asked me to be a boy.
So she travels the world fromhere to Dubai.
She was on Telemundo, like shelives a life.
So I've been in this space, letprojects on this space for some
time.
So 2022 happened November.
(05:57):
Everyone was like, This ishappening.
Let's ban it in schools orlet's um access it.
Like the pendulum for wherepeople were was all over the
place.
And in that moment, I realizedback to like my niece using
things like Alexa or playing insome of these tools like Roblox
that have AI integration, orthinking about Netflix or
YouTube that literally, sorry,there's like algorithms and AI
(06:20):
components in there that areactually like saying to our kids
what they should watch orshouldn't watch.
So I was like, I need to meetkids where they are.
And it's starting with thebook, AI Meets AI, about a
little girl named um Addy Iriswho meets a robot named Jazz,
who was lost from JHU.
I'm right near JSU, and JSU hassome amazing AI um labs there
(06:40):
and robotics labs.
And I really wanted kids to seethemselves as not just users
and hey, Alexa or okay, Googleof these technologies, but could
see themselves as creator.
The book did well.
I self-published, which is didwell shockingly, without a
publishing company.
So yes, still selling, stilldoing well in this category.
And then I was like, wait,something else needs to happen
(07:01):
here, which is where AIDigitales came from, which was
like, I want to talk about AIthrough stories.
Started that, started doingworkshops for kids, switching
from adults to kids.
And then also, same time, Istill do workshops in the day
for AI for adults as well, butalso started doing it for kids
in schools and things like that.
And then I was like, all right,the book is not enough.
(07:22):
What is next?
The workshops happen, thenlaunched the podcast, AI for
kids, which really focuses oninterviewing both adults and
kids about these technologiesand getting into like the
nitty-gritty of like, why is itgood?
Why is it bad?
How can you do it?
How can you use it?
And allowing kids anotherscreen-free way, because they're
just audio, screen-free way tohear and understand what it is.
(07:44):
And fast forward after that, Iwas like, okay, I can't be in
all places with these workshops,just not possible.
People may or may not find thebook as well, but what is
something else I can get intothe hands of folks?
And as I was interviewingpeople, and we also have a
series on our podcast that wewrap next Tuesday called The
ABCs of AI.
I was like, there's somethingthere.
And I had heard really goodfeedback from those um different
(08:06):
uh podcasts, how people playthem in their classroom, how
parents are learning.
Someone sent me a video oftheir four-year-old talking
about an algorithm.
First of all, I could not sayalgorithm at four.
This four-year-old could.
And I was like, all right,there's a there there.
So, like drum roll, please.
That's when I came up with theidea of something called AI
Digicars.
Now I know you're wonderingwhat's going on with all this
(08:29):
AI, Digi, Digi, or whatever.
AI Digitales, AI Digicars.
But what AI Digicars are,they're a screen-free way for
kids to be introduced to AIthrough um like storytelling,
activities, like, but take itaway from the screen.
We don't have to throw kids ona screen to learn about um AI.
(08:49):
Think about all the things welearned in school through in
theory classes where it was justreading a book.
Think about all the songs youlearn about, like, think about
Schoolhouse Rock.
How did you learn about a bill?
The first time you learnedabout a bill was through that
song, I'm just a bill, orwhatever it was, Barney cleanup
song.
A lot of things happen throughsong and activity that stick in
our mind.
Whereas something that we mayhave like learned in the book,
(09:12):
we can't say on page 365 of thisbiology book, I remember this
thing, but you do remember whatit means to like be in the lab
or be interactive.
So I'm like, we can do thatwith AI.
So let's start with the deck.
Our first deck is the ABCs ofAI, mostly because we were
already been talking about thetopic and we're offering kids
the ability to interact with AI,130 different cards, five cards
(09:34):
per letter in five differentmodalities because kids learn
differently.
And we're trying to keep theeducation and entertainment
together so that kids canremember this.
And we're like the we're thebeginning of this.
So as the kids get the conceptslater, like when we sung the
Bill song, we didn't know whatthe heck a Bill was or what was
going on.
But then when we got to likelater on in life, like, oh, I
know what this is and I canconnect it.
(09:56):
So we're like the verybeginning and basics of that.
First deck is ABCs of AI forkids ages four to eight, and we
hope to expand to nine to twelvein our next deck that's focused
on the ABCs as well.
Dr. Fonz Mendoza (10:07):
I love it.
And you know, one of the thingsthat I do want to highlight
that you did mention is thescreen time.
And you and I had talked abouta little bit warming up for the
chat, how parents are limitingthat screen time and are now
opting from the fancy, wonderfulcomputers, supercomputer
phones, and now going back towhat would be a flip phone or a
(10:29):
phone that is really restrictedas far as what the student can
access.
They may be able to access, youknow, just the important apps,
you know, the phone numbers andso on.
But I think that you doinginterviews, knowing parents,
hearing their thoughts, andseeing that many parents have
that, uh, I guess that fearbecause of what is happening.
(10:51):
And we hear a lot of storiesthrough, of course, character AI
and a lot of uh AI chatbots.
So being able to provide themwith a way to learn the
concepts.
And like you said, that takingthose hard concepts that you
would normally work with withadults and really, I guess,
molding them in such a way, notnecessarily dumbing them down
(11:14):
because that's not what we'redoing, but putting them and
packaging them in a way that afour to eight-year-old and a
parent can understand and theycan have conversations together
in multiple modalities and oractivities in multiple
modalities, I think is somethingthat is fantastic.
And I'd love to hear a littlebit more as far as for four
(11:35):
through eight-year-olds and theparents that would be using
these cards and interacting withthem at home, what would you
like to be their biggesttakeaway after, you know,
playing with the cards andlearning the concepts there?
Amber Ivey (11:50):
I think um, to your point of around the screen time,
I think a lot of people assumethat the only way for a kid to
learn about AI, which I see alot of adverse reactions to the
idea of AI for kids.
So normally people are like, AIfor kids, no, keep the AI away
from our kids, which Iunderstand 100%.
But for me, it's like the wayyou introduce it.
Should we hand a four-year-oldan app in a chat bot?
(12:13):
No, absolutely not.
Can we sit at the table andplay a game with the
four-year-old that talks aboutan algorithm or talks about
ethics or teaches them some ofthe basics of like what is an AI
robot or what have you, andhelp them think about like
things that could be fake onlineor whatever it is to help them
get early understanding?
We totally should.
And I understand parents, and Ihear this all the time, and
(12:35):
there's studies that showed usas well.
Parents are banning or reducingscreen time.
Like 70% of parents in a recentsurvey are reducing screen
time.
There's also these screen-freemovements.
Um, there are parents um incommunities, either to your
point, either in affluentcommunities, or who like even
Gen Z and Gen A are also saying,I want my life back.
Let's just have a regular flipphone, because in case of
(12:58):
emergencies, you should havethat.
We do not need to havesmartphones in um in classrooms.
I hear teachers complain allthe time about like having a
smartphone, they have to fightfor the attention of that.
The dopamine that's uh that'sbeing released and all these
things that we know arehappening with screen time
addiction, with the lonelinessepidemic, with these different
um apps that are like buildingrelationships with our kids.
(13:20):
Now they're in toys.
Like Mattel is about to put AIinto toys.
There's a bunch of little um AItools out there that exist,
right?
So if we know these things arecoming, we want to make sure
kids understand it.
I want to put this back intothe parents' hands and the kids'
hands for when they're readyand they can still learn about
these concepts.
So they don't feel like they'rebehind, but they allow them to
(13:41):
do it in a way that they'recomfortable with.
Like the thing I say is like AIlearning or AI literacy
literacy should start at thekitchen table, not on a tablet.
And right now, a lot of bootcamps will hand your kid a
tablet.
We don't want our kids in thoseecosystems, the data being
trained on them.
Our cards don't train on yourdata, our cards don't even know
who you are.
(14:01):
Like, unless you write yourname on it and you know whatever
it is, we have no idea, right?
And we will not have that dataon your family, but your family
will have a good experience.
And this is deck just deck oneof many that that are gonna
come.
Dr. Fonz Mendoza (14:44):
That is wonderful.
And I absolutely love that.
That again, you're you'reproviding a wonderful resource
for parents.
Uh, when I worked with parentsand we would do our technology
Tuesdays, and we would talkabout digital safety, digital
citizenship, all of thosethings, it it's the parents,
there is a need there, butsometimes they feel overwhelmed
(15:04):
because they don't know where tostart.
There is so much information.
But when you're able tocondense it and be able to
provide them with whetherliterature or some resources
that they can go ahead and takein and have those conversations
with their child, I think that'ssomething that's fantastic.
And here they have somethingthat is ready-made where it is
(15:26):
not something that is veryominous to them and very scary
to them that they will feeluncomfortable with.
It's something that they canall do together.
And like you said, sitting atthe kitchen table together as a
family, going through the cards.
A is for algorithm, you know, Qis for quantum, you know, and
things of that sort.
And talking about that wherelater on, as the students
(15:49):
continue to grow and parents arelistening to the news or
listening to whatever's outthere, they start making those
connections too, as well, likeyou did mention before.
And so I love that that thecards will also, you know, pique
uh parent and child'scuriosity, their creativity, but
will also help them in theirconfidence as well.
(16:09):
So I want to, yeah.
So I want to ask you, you know,was that the idea to link these
three things uh into AIliteracy?
Because right now, at least inthe world that I'm in in the
education space, and I know youhear it too, the term AI
literacy, but but there's somany definitions, and sometimes
you're like, like, what doesthis even mean?
It's you say it's like you saya word so many times that it
(16:32):
loses its meaning and you don'tknow what it is.
But kind of like I want to askyou, you know, I because I think
like the curiosity, creativity,and that confidence component
really build nicely into thethis wonderful exercise in AI
literacy.
Amber Ivey (16:46):
100%.
The one of the things I hearthe most from parents or
teachers, this is also forteachers though, like having the
classroom, and I know teachersare really excited about it as
well, but I hear they're afraidof, I call them the four C's.
They're afraid of AI taking thecuriosity, AI taking away
confidence, AI taking umcritical thinking.
I forgot my other C.
There's another C there.
Dr. Fonz Mendoza (17:08):
Collaboration, curiosity.
Amber Ivey (17:10):
Yes, curiosity is the four C.
They're afraid of AI takingthose things.
And in reality, like we'reseeing early studies that show
like critical thinking does goaway.
These other things do go awaywhen we use AI and rely on it
too much.
And AI, in this sense, I'msaying talking about LLMs, there
are a lot of different types ofLL, excuse me, AI, but LLMs is
like the main one that we're alltalking about right now.
(17:32):
So, how can we make sure thatkids using AI or learning about
AI and LLMs or these other umfoundational components to the
AI that is publicly open to us,how do we make sure to be
flipping on its head?
So for us, instead of takingaway curiosity, critical
thinking, confidence, um, and Iforgot my fourth C.
(17:53):
I will get it later.
But we've taken away these, theC's, we flip it on its head to
make sure that we give thatback.
So think about if you have adefinition car, there's a
definition up there.
But the thing that's reallycool about it is beyond the
definition that's easy tounderstand for a kid or a
parent, the parent doesn't haveto feel like anxiety, like
helping a kid.
I remember like thinking abouthelping a kid with a homework
(18:15):
and homework and seeing thatthings have changed since we
went to school.
And then like math is new.
Like if I hear about new mathone more time, I'm gonna, in my
head, it's gonna explode.
But like how kids are doingthings are different.
Our cars that doesn't matter.
You can be a parent who's neverunderstood AI concept.
You can talk about thedefinition, and under every
single activity, definition, orwhatever the main modality is
for the card, there's a questionor something that you can do
(18:39):
that further enhances that, thatallows the conversation to
continue so that every time youinteract, it could be a
different discussion andwhatever.
And that allows the card deckto continue to grow with the
kid.
The other piece I didn't say umis that at some point, parents
do want their kids to getonline, right?
Or um we also target this forkids who do not have access to
(19:00):
screens.
So this is for individuals whodon't want their kids to be on
screens or who do not haveaccess, right?
But when we get to the pointwhere you think your kids are
ready or your access increases,we have digital expansion packs
that are coming on board aswell.
So then you can go online and avery um like working with
partners who we trust and anddifferent um modalities or not
(19:22):
modalities, different um toolsand things that we trust for you
to try things out with your kidin a very secure and safe
environment when you're ready.
But that's totally optional.
You can still learn about allthe AI concepts without ever
going online.
So that's what I'm excitedabout.
And um, I just can't wait toget it in the hands of human
beings and have kids out thereplaying around and testing them.
Dr. Fonz Mendoza (19:44):
And that's something that's very exciting
because I think that this issomething so refreshing.
Because again, going back andtalking to about screen time,
and I myself, you know, workingas uh an assessment coordinator.
I mean, talk about screen time.
The students have to practicecontinually on computers, a lot
of the curriculum, a lot of thebooks.
Uh like pretty much it's likeyou're you're on a Chromebook
(20:06):
all day long for the most part.
And as teachers, like youmentioned before, having to
fight for that attention andbeing able to, I mean, it's it's
almost like really like you'recreating TikTok videos like
right then on the spot, becauseyou have three seconds to get
them hooked into what you'redoing and probably about five
minutes at most of attentionspan.
(20:26):
And then, all right, let's go.
But uh, I mean, havingsomething like this, and and
again, now with this youngergeneration and these four and
eight-year-olds that may getthese hands on these cards, or
four through eight-year-oldsthat may get the hands in these
cards and the parents, I thinkthat this is something fantastic
now because then a lot of thosestudents are already going to
learn the concepts, they'relearning actively.
(20:49):
And again, once as theycontinue to grow and move
through school, and then ofcourse, the uh availability of
those expansion packs where nowthat card can come to life as
in, for example, where I'mlearning about algorithm here.
What does that look like on acomputer, on a computer program,
and things of that sort, andunderstanding those things.
(21:09):
And then you really start tobuild that literacy, not only
just the knowledge of thedefinition, but also being able
to see it in action.
And I think that that issomething that is fantastic.
That as they continue to growand mature, you know, the
parents might feel still alittle bit better that their
child at an early age knows thedifference or can tell, maybe
(21:32):
just even outputs, understandinglike what is a real output,
what is not a real output.
Amber Ivey (21:37):
That is one of our works.
Dr. Fonz Mendoza (21:38):
Yeah.
And especially now, Amber, withthe way that video is getting
that for many young, youngadults that are and young kids
that are have been on living onYouTube for a very long time,
even for them, it's very hard totell what is real and what is
not.
And so I'm glad that there is awonderful resource, a tool that
(21:59):
parents can use and worktogether with their parents.
So I want to ask you too, justbe on your experience, because I
know that there was a lot ofresearch that had to have gone
into producing these cards andtalking to a lot of parents and
so on.
So, within that scope, whatwere some of the more surprising
ethical or privacy concernsthat you might have observed or
(22:22):
heard from parents when, youknow, you're talking about the
cards and what they can do.
So tell us a little bit aboutthat just so we can, as
educators, also hear a littlebit about what parents are
thinking.
Amber Ivey (22:34):
So I'm gonna think one of the, let me answer the
surprise, and I'll talk aboutsome of the other things I
heard.
One of the things that'sinteresting is like this hype
around AI.
Um, and also around the hype,like parents are a little bit
concerned because their kidsknow more than them, which I
don't think is a bad thing, andwhat that means.
So, because of the hype andbecause AI is integrating a lot
(22:56):
of their devices, parents areliterally saying, like, hey, my
kid is using this thing.
I don't know what they'redoing.
They know it better than me.
I've also seen this like on theground, um, doing like live
workshops with kids.
I can show them an image, avideo, they're more likely to
identify a fake than an adult,which is good.
And it's actually amazing.
(23:16):
I think we don't give kids asmuch credit as we should.
And this is like, I'm nottalking about middle schoolers,
like this is in even myelementary um classes where kids
literally, when I do the samelike type of test with adults to
kids, kids get it right moreoften.
So I think we don't give kidsas much credit.
They're growing up in thisworld, a little bit more
skeptical.
(23:36):
They kind of know.
And then I ask them, I'm like,how do you know this isn't AI?
They're able to, or this is AIor is real.
It has this, it has thelighting is wrong.
I'm like, the lighting iswrong.
Second grade.
Or um, if you look at thewhiskers of the cat, like a cat
would and a cat would never letyou get that close.
Like the different images Ishow.
You could never take a pictureof a cat.
And I'm sitting here like,okay, we think that is that they
(24:00):
don't get it, but that's theonly world they know.
And I think we forget that whenyou grow up in the world that
you're presented, you adjust toit.
And I think the kids have donean amazing job of adjusting to
it.
However, along the same side ofthings, is I am learning that
kids aren't treating it likethey should in certain ways.
(24:20):
And that um, like I always andI've talked to people about
this, but my rule is like takethe old school rules and apply
them to apply them to thetechnology.
What I mean by that, you learnvery early on, offline, don't
talk to strangers, don't giveout your address, don't send
anyone your image, don't like doany of those things.
Same things apply to an AItool.
(24:40):
So don't talk to strangers inAI means don't go download an
app that you don't know anythingabout and no one has vetted.
That's a stranger, you don'tknow who that is.
Don't don't take a picture ofyour face to put into a
different tool.
Don't share your address, don'tdo any of those things.
So it's also like um parentsare trying to figure out how to
take those skills that theyalready shared and brought it
(25:02):
in.
And the other piece is thatkids have been doing this
forever.
When there's a bunch of rulesaround something, kids are gonna
figure out how to get around itand they're gonna share how to
get around it.
And parents are spending a lotof time on a lot of different
threads and a lot of differentcommunity groups as well, where
parents are spending a bunch oftime like trying to share each
(26:05):
other the tips that the kidshave already figured out.
It's actually better if we justtalk to the kid and like make
it an open space for them toshare what's happening and for
that dialogue to happen, andyou'll go much further.
The parents who I've seen likegive access with with protection
around it have seen betteroutcomes with those um different
things that we're dealing within this generation.
(26:26):
But the main one that's mostsurprising to me is they get it
way better than we do, even atelementary school level.
Dr. Fonz Mendoza (26:32):
That is great.
And that's so good to hear, youknow.
And again, because you'reabsolutely right.
Sometimes we don't give ourstudents, you know, that that
benefit that they do or cantell.
I mean, right now, when youmentioned that as far as
lighting, I was like, I wouldhave never thought of maybe even
looking at lighting or focusedon, you know, from my era, from
what I know, and I may miss it.
(26:54):
And they don't because theythey know the video games, the
way the lighting works, whateverit is.
Oh, sure.
And so, yeah, very true.
The other thing that I love isthe the way that you talked
about, you know, creating anopen space and just to be able
to have a discussion, that safespace where let's talk about
these questions.
And again, going to back to thecards, being able to open that
(27:15):
up and have those discussions.
But I want to ask you too, inin your experience, what what
are some of the things that youwould like to dispel or to
correct for educators andparents when they say, AI for
kids, wait, wait, no way.
Like they're too young, they'lllearn it later.
What are some things that youwish that you can share with a
(27:36):
lot of parents or educators?
And right now is the time to doit on our podcast.
Amber Ivey (27:40):
So I will say this um the federal government at the
federal government level isreally pushing for AI literacy.
We have a bunch of differentcurriculum that are out there.
We also use some of thiscurriculum in our actual cars as
well.
We don't consider ourselves aneducation tool.
We're an edutainment tool.
So both you're introduced toit, but also you're entertained
and interacting in that way.
So um curriculum like day, umday of AI, um, AI for K12, like
(28:07):
those different curriculums areout there for those who are a
little bit nervous about that.
The thing I would say to yourdirect question is you can
either teach them AI or AI wouldteach them about AI.
So we can choose either onebecause in the real, the reality
is we all know that if you andI talk about any uh product
(28:27):
right now, and there's an ad onmy phone, as soon as we open our
phone, if you have your um micon for certain apps, we will
have a product uh that'sscrolling and telling us.
Now imagine when private sectoror big tech companies are
deciding they want your kids andtheir attention because the
reality is, and this issomething that I think is
(28:47):
important that I've learned evenbefore this, is that when you
get a kid at a young age, youhave them as a customer for
life.
What do I mean by that?
How many of us are now asmillennials or whatever Gen X,
Gen Y, boomers or whatever, howmany people are going back to
find the things they got fromtheir childhood?
Or how many people are goingnow to show their kids Aladdin
(29:09):
live action because that's alsowhat they what they um watch
growing up?
And how many people have spentso much money trying to relive
your childhood because theyrealize if I get you as a kid, I
have you for life.
Animals from childhood rightnow are going on eBay for
hundreds of dollars.
I wish I would have saved.
Save my stuffed animals.
So you have Google, you haveChat GPT, you have all these
(29:35):
different um AIs, even Grok, whoshould not be in the kid
business, not dissing grokanyway, but they shouldn't be in
the kid business.
They have other stuff they gotgoing on.
But all these different toolsare going to kids because if
they catch a kid at this age,they have a customer for life.
And at the end of the day, itstarted as research, but it is
really about money now.
So if we know that, we need tomake sure that we are helping
(29:58):
those kids who are now going tobe targeted with ads that know
you better than your mother,that know you better than
yourself.
We need to make sure they knowwhat is happening.
Cause even now as adults, we'regetting um like we're getting
trapped into it.
And we're watching certainshows because Netflix told us
what to watch.
And now all of our, all of ourNetflix shows are 99% of what we
(30:19):
watch are YouTube, or we've nowbought thousands of dollars
worth of stuff because of ads.
Like now put that in the handsof a kid.
Um, so we want to make surekids know about AI before AI
knows them and before AI startsto tell it about itself.
We need to make sure they know.
And I I take that stance.
And I don't think it has tohappen with a tablet.
(30:39):
I think there's ways, there'sbooks.
There are people who are alsogetting into the screen free
movement to try to help kids.
And I hope more people get intothis movement for AI in
particular.
Um, like for example, Chat GPTis gonna come out with a, if
they haven't already, a um,which I agree or don't disagree,
we're not gonna talk aboutthat.
But it's a um a version ofchat, um, chat GPT that's just
(31:00):
like a box that you can talkinto.
Some other AI companies havetried it as well.
I think one was called Rabbitin the past, but they're trying
to come out with these thingsthat aren't screen free.
There's also a necklace calledFriend that kind of follows you.
I don't think you should callAI a friend, um, but there are
certain things I don't agreewith.
With but there are these toolsthat are coming that are screen
free, but they still collect abunch of data.
(31:20):
How can you make sure you givekids access to this without the
data?
And the reality is everyone isselling an AI app now.
Everyone has overlaid some UXor user interface or user
experience that's exciting ontop of mostly Chat GPT or these
other LLMs.
It's still ChatGPT.
It wasn't built for a kid.
And that's an area of aproblem.
(31:42):
If you're going to introducekids in your classroom to AI or
if your school district is goingto do it, it needs to be an AI
that was built for kids, not awrapper, meaning a tool that's
just using Chat GPT with adifferent wrapper on the
outside.
We should never do that.
Check with those companies tomake sure it was built for kids
in mind.
It has all the umcertifications it needs and use
(32:04):
that.
But ChatGPT with an edutainmentor excuse me, education or ed
tech um overlay on it for kidsis the wrong approach.
So teachers, I get that, butmake sure they're doing the
right things as they build thesetools out for your kids.
Dr. Fonz Mendoza (32:16):
Absolutely.
And I think that's somethingthat you brought up a great
point there.
And that is something that fromthe very beginning, as as you
know, November 20, 2022, youknow, when this started coming
out, I really got into justlooking at terms of service and
things of that sort.
And as we know, a lot of theplatforms do connect to Chat
GPT, they connect to Cloud, theyconnect to other uh large
(32:39):
language models.
And again, like you mentioned,it's just something that is
overlaid over those models thatalthough those models will tell
you this is not for anybodyyounger than 18, then but on the
wrapper itself, it'll say, oh,it's safe for students from 11
to 18 or whatever the case is.
But you're absolutely right, itis still overlaid upon ChatGPT.
(33:01):
However, because of the writingand everything, you know, I I
don't know how many, how thechecks that really go into a new
app when it just they cansimply write, hey, I've got
COPA, FERPA, I've got all ofthat.
And then all of a suddenschools just see those initials
and they're like, oh, okay, herewe go.
We're good to go.
And maybe the data storageisn't even in the US and it's
(33:23):
overseas.
So now where is your datagoing?
So there's definitely a lot ofthings to think about there.
But I love the fact that youare doing something great for
that future that is here.
The the students that arecoming in that are going to be
having or be have be exposed tothis at a lot younger age than
(33:43):
we were.
Now they're gonna be betterprepared.
Their parents are gonna bebetter prepared.
And I think that that issomething that is great, that we
are preparing them as opposedto before uh, you know, a lot of
people is just ban it, ban italtogether, keep it away.
It's not gonna go away, butwhat can we do to help our
(34:04):
students just really understandthe risks and how it works and
so on?
So that's why I've always said,like, I've always been a
cautious advocate and just kindof being in the middle.
And sometimes when I feel likeI'm leaning to like, yes, this
is it, this is going, and thenall of a sudden you see
something in the news, and I'mlike, all right, I'm right back
over here, you know.
But but it's okay.
(34:25):
And that's what theseconversations are about.
And this is what is wonderfulabout what you are doing, Amber,
and the work that you're doing.
I I love the fact that what youare doing through the cards,
the students are now gonna haveexposure to the terminology,
they're gonna have exposure tothe language, the vocabulary
that is a continue to grow andprogress.
(34:47):
And of course, the technologycontinues to grow and progress.
They have a betterunderstanding.
And like you mentioned earlier,at that young age, now they're
gonna be able to make andconnect those dots.
And it's gonna be somethingthat is fantastic.
So I love it.
I love the work that you'redoing.
But Amber, I just kind of wantto flip it on you a little bit.
We're we're gonna change thisbecause I just want to ask you,
(35:09):
you know, as a personalreflection, and maybe I might
catch you off guard with thisquestion, but and the reason
that I asked this is becausefrom the first time that you
were on the show back in uh showepisode March episode 317, till
now, you know, we're gettingclose to December.
You know, you've done a lot andyou've brought a lot of great
content for young kids, um, youknow, bringing in adults for to
(35:32):
be able to speak, you know, toyoung kids through your podcast
and your book.
But did you ever imagine, youknow, yourself as as a kid in
the whole pre-AI era when wewere, you know, still with or I
was playing with Transformersand I was playing with Hot
Wheels and so on.
But did you ever imagine thatyou would be working within this
(35:53):
space in this intersection ofwhere you are working with data
analytics, AI, and now you'redoing AI literacy for kids.
Did you ever imagine yourselfdoing that?
And if not, like how do youfeel about it now?
Amber Ivey (36:10):
So the funny thing is, I never imagined that one,
but when I look at it, all theskill sets I have make sense.
So I've always struggled with,like, for example, I told you
during my day job I do this workfor government, but even like
for for the last in BaltimoreCity in particular, that's why I
live high, folks.
(36:30):
Um, in Baltimore City inparticular, I've been
volunteering with the NationalUrban League since 2012.
And in that, we have thisprogram called the Saturday
Leadership Program, as well as afew other programs that focus
on helping kids to see all thebeautiful universities here at
um it within um Baltimore.
We have so many universities.
So we take kids um over theschool year to different uh
(36:53):
universities to help themselvessee, help see themselves there.
So I've always had an interestin kids and the next generation
um and always been focused onkids in that way.
And I've always had a creativebrain.
So data is logical and but alsoallows me to be creative if I'm
doing things around likevisualizations.
But I finally feel like all myskill sets can come together now
(37:13):
that I have the AI for kidscomponent.
Did I see myself here?
No.
We're all the components andall the breadcrumbs there, 100%.
Dr. Fonz Mendoza (37:21):
I love it.
That is fantastic.
And then just one more questionbefore we wrap up as a just a
kind of personal reflection.
And I've asked this questionbefore to previous guests, but I
I would definitely uh with thework that you've done, and uh,
you know, I think that I wouldlove to hear your answer on
this.
So I want to ask you what keepsyou up at night in a good way
(37:41):
about AI, kids, and education,and what excites you the most?
I thought you were gonna ask mea bad way.
Amber Ivey (37:49):
I was like, oh, so what keeps me up in at night in
a good way is that it's notgonna be a good way.
It's gonna be a good way,kinda.
Um, let me let me say that.
So I the thing that keeps me upat night, like if I'm being
real about just that power ofthe question without the good
way, is that kids have differentlevels of access to technology.
(38:10):
Um, my background as a kid, andboth my parents were military,
moved around a lot.
And I saw very early on, everytime we moved to a different zip
code, there were very differentoutcomes for kids.
Um, very different technologythat was available in our
schools.
And technology can mean even abook, right?
That's a form of a technologyif you look at it that way.
Um, and when AI came out, I wasjust like, what really led to
(38:34):
that first book is like, I wantkids to make sure they're ready
for this because AI can be used,which is the good thing about
what keeps me up at night.
AI can be used to close so manygaps, to help kids explore, to
help people who are already likecreating companies and like
able to sustain their familiesusing these tools.
Like, there's so much goodthere.
But the flip side is if wedon't get it right, we're gonna
(38:55):
leave a whole lot of peoplebehind.
And this could be a great umbridge.
So that's what keep me up atnight is like this thing can
solve a lot of our problems thatwe've had in society, and we
have to do that right.
And I'm really excited aboutthe potential of that happening.
And then um thank you.
And then just in general, isjust I really want to make sure
(39:16):
that all kids, and I this is oneof my other taglines, all kids,
no matter their zip codes, havethe ability to get introduced
to AI in a way that'sscreen-free, that protects their
curiosity, their creativity,their critical thinking, and
their confidence and allows themto be the best little humans
they can be.
Um, I also say this because wedon't want robots, we want kids.
So let kids be kids, notrobots.
(39:38):
And that's so important to me.
And I think that with AI andwith what I'm creating with AI
Digicars, we have a chance to dothat, as well as others who are
thinking about screen-freeoptions for kids.
Dr. Fonz Mendoza (39:48):
Excellent.
Well, Amber, this has been afantastic conversation.
I am so excited and sothrilled.
Just again, the work thatyou've done up until this point,
the work that you continue todo and this mission that you are
or are on is something that iswonderful.
And I really appreciate that wehave fine educators like
yourself that are doing thesethings because it's something
(40:09):
that is so important.
And, you know, just trying toget in the front, in front of
all of this and being able tohelp out those parents and being
able to help out those youngkids through your book, through
your podcast, and now throughAI, Digicards.
So I want to ask, though,because I know that this was on
Kickstarter.
Uh, we will link this in theshow notes as well.
But I know that may I I'm notsure the way Kickstarter works.
(40:31):
So do we still have you knowtime for any listeners to really
get in and be able to purchaseor be able to back your project?
Tell us a little bit aboutthat.
Amber Ivey (40:41):
Yes.
So we're on Kickstarter.
We got funded within 13 hours.
So that means we're goingprint.
So I'm really excited aboutthat.
So we have 19 more days left inour Kickstarter.
It actually ends on mybirthday, December 3rd.
Happy birthday early birthdayto me.
Um, so make sure you check itout.
But the thing about theKickstarter is it's to allow us
to fund that first um set ofcards.
(41:03):
We're now working on ourstretch goal since we hit the
first goal, which is to get tothose um digital expansion
packs, which I'm really excitedabout.
But if you go on Kickstarterright now and you choose one of
the um different levels that hasa card deck in it, you'll get
the card deck.
There's also the ability forpeople who may say, Hey, I don't
have kids in my life, but Iwant to gift it to a school.
There's ability to back aclassroom, back a school, or
(41:26):
just get a pack to send tosomeone.
It also comes with a posterthat also have the ABCs of AI
that can be printed out.
Um it comes with like a coollittle uh luggage, luggage or
book bag tag.
Um, each one comes with adifferent thing.
And for everyone who backs us,you will have your name either
via a QR code depending on thelevel or your name actually on a
card within every single deck.
(41:47):
So people will be able to seethat you actually help back this
and make it come to life.
And I'm really excited aboutthat.
So, yes, depending on the day,as long as it's before December
3rd that this comes out, pleasego to our Kickstarter
Kickstarter and then um chooseuh where you want to back us.
And these cards are going toprint.
Our hope is that we'll havethem to you all by early next
(42:07):
year.
Dr. Fonz Mendoza (42:08):
Excellent.
Well, I'm excited.
I know I saw the project.
I was like, all right, I'm in.
I definitely want to supportjust a wonderful, wonderful
mission that you are doing.
So I'm really excited aboutthat.
And I'm excited that it's gonnabe autographed too as well.
So I'm not gonna lie, I'm notgonna lie.
I'm really excited about thattoo.
But that's fantastic.
Amber, again, thank you so muchfor being on the show.
(42:29):
And again, before we wrap up,here are three lightning round
questions.
So here we go.
Question number one (42:33):
as we know, every superhero has a pain
point or weakness.
So for Superman, kryptonite washis weakness and I guess his
pain point.
So I want to ask you, Amber, inthe current state of we'll say
AI in education, what would yousay would be your current
kryptonite?
Amber Ivey (42:52):
That is hard.
Um, I would say it's balancingthe benefit of the technology
with the default.
And for me, it's like thiswhole idea of deep fakes, as I
told you all earlier, my voiceis on an AI.
So my kryptonite right now islike using people's voices when
they didn't get permission.
I gave permission for mine, myvoice is licensed, but now
(43:15):
people are being able to take itand use it in different ways.
And I think that actually takesaway from it and doesn't make
the AI movement as strong whenthings like that are happening.
Dr. Fonz Mendoza (43:24):
All right, good answer.
Thank you.
Question number two if youcould have a billboard, and
we'll say they're in right smackin the middle of Baltimore,
with and that your billboardcould have anything on it, what
would it be and why?
Amber Ivey (43:36):
It would literally probably say one of the quotes I
said earlier, it would say, allkids deserve access, no matter
their zip code.
And that's access to AI, accessto math, access to cool
learning labs, access to allthings.
Like we live in a generationwhere we have all this
technology.
If we have it, let's make surewe give kids access to do what
(43:57):
it is they need to do or theinformation they need to at
least get it for themselves.
Dr. Fonz Mendoza (44:00):
Excellent.
Great answer.
And the last question, Amber,if you could trade places with a
single person for a day, whowould that be and why?
Amber Ivey (44:09):
I would say Mackenzie Scott, mainly because
she is giving out so much moneyto so many different
organizations, and like they'renot even having to ask for it.
I just want to be in her shoesto just see like what is her
thought process, how is shefinding these organizations?
She's given, um, for folks whodon't know, she is her husband
(44:31):
is a former, former, herex-husband is a former or is a
current tech exec, and she got alot of money through their
divorce.
And she has been doing so muchstuff for H recus, woman,
women-owned businesses, like umminority-owned businesses.
She's just cutting checks thatthey've never seen before.
Put me in those for a day justto see how she does it and how
(44:52):
she gets there.
I think it's so cool to havethat type of impact and giving
money out at that level that'schanging, changing lives,
changing students' lives, and isreally helping a lot of
universities as well, especiallyI'm in the current funding
environment.
Dr. Fonz Mendoza (45:04):
Excellent.
Well, that is a great answer.
So, Amber, thank you so muchagain for being a guest on our
show.
And again, it's an honor tohave you here.
Again, I am a big fan of yourwork.
And please make sure to all ourlisteners, if you do not follow
Amber yet, please make surethat you check out the link in
the show notes.
Make sure you make sure youfollow on LinkedIn, make sure
(45:25):
you follow on Instagram,subscribe to the pod because it
is fantastic.
So if you are an educator foreducation professional and
you're listening to this and youhave kids, I will definitely
put this on on road trips andallow your kids to listen to it
because you will find somewonderful content for them.
Make sure you check out thebook too as well, and be on the
lookout for those AI Digicards.
(45:45):
So again, Amber is doing somewonderful things where, like she
mentioned earlier, she cannotbe at all the places, but she
can definitely bring thatknowledge and passion and that
vision to all the places throughall these multiple means for
your students.
So again, Amber, thank you somuch.
And for all our audiencemembers, please make sure you
visit our website,myedtech.life, or you can check
(46:07):
out this amazing episode and theother 342 episodes.
So I promise you, you will finda little something there that,
or little knowledge there, thatyou can sprinkle onto what you
are already doing great.
And again, a big shout out toour sponsors.
Thank you so much, BookCreator, Edu8, Yellow Dig,
Peelback Education.
It really means the world to methat you believe in our mission
(46:28):
to bring these greatconversations into our space.
And again, my friends, untilnext time, don't forget, stay
techy.
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