Black Box
A system (like some AI models) whose inner workings are not visible or easily understood by humans.
Help me explain to...
K–5th
A Black Box is like a magic machine, you give it something, and it gives you something back, but you don’t know how it figured it out. With some AI, we can’t see how it made its decision.
6–8th
Some AI models work like a mystery box. You give it a question, and it gives an answer, but even the programmers don’t always know exactly how it got that answer. That’s called a Black Box.
9–12th
A Black Box in AI refers to models that produce outputs without a transparent explanation of how they arrived at their results. This limits trust, accountability, and ethical oversight, especially in high-stakes fields like healthcare or criminal justice.
Expeditions
K–5th
Put a box in front of the class. Place an object inside and shake it. Let students guess what’s inside using only clues from outside the box. Compare this to how AI sometimes works in mystery ways.
6–8th
Use a basic machine learning model (like a decision tree). Then compare it to a neural network where the steps aren’t shown. Ask: Which one is easier to trust or understand?
9–12th
Debate: “Should AI tools always be explainable?” Assign groups to argue for or against “Black Box” models. Have students reflect on when transparency matters most in education, health, or law.
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