V is for Voice and Vision - ABCs of AI (Elementary+)

Ever wondered how smart speakers like Alexa know what you're saying? Or how self-driving cars can tell the difference between a stop sign and a person? Our latest episode dives into the fascinating world of voice and vision in artificial intelligence—explaining how AI's digital "ears" and "eyes" work in ways even young children can understand.

We break down voice recognition technology, explaining how AI systems listen to spoken commands and figure out appropriate responses. But with this knowledge comes responsibility, especially for our young listeners. We emphasize crucial safety guidelines: always ask permission before using voice devices, never share personal information, and understand that these tools may be recording what they hear.

Computer vision gets equal attention as we explore how AI "sees" the world by analyzing patterns, colors, and shapes rather than truly seeing as humans do. From sorting photos to helping robots navigate, vision-enabled AI surrounds us daily. Parents will appreciate our straightforward safety rules that empower children without causing fear: no camera access without adult supervision, no sharing images of faces or homes, and always consulting grown-ups when something feels uncomfortable.

The best part? We've included screen-free activities that families can try at home! Our Voice and Vision Challenge features two games that simulate how AI processes information. One person plays the role of an AI responding to voice commands, while another game involves sorting objects by visual characteristics—perfect for reinforcing these concepts through play rather than more screen time.

Curious about what's coming next? Tune in as we continue our alphabetical journey through AI concepts with W in our next episode. Don't forget to subscribe and leave a review to help other families discover how to navigate the AI landscape with confidence!

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome to AI for Kids
• 1:29 Understanding Voice in AI
• 2:14 Vision: How AI "Sees"
• 3:44 Safety Tips and Home Activities
• 6:14 Wrap-up and Next Episode Preview

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:29

Welcome to the AI for Kids podcast, the podcast for moms, aunties and teachers who want the kids they love to understand AI without more screen time. We keep it simple, safe and fun. No tech degree required. Each episode breaks down AI ideas and includes activities to help kids use AI in ways that keep them curious and creative. No pressure, no overwhelm, no extra screens, just clear, engaging learning you can feel good about. Let's get started. Hi friends, welcome back to the ABCs of AI.

Speaker 1: 1:02

Today's letter is V and it stands for voice and vision, two ways that AI can learn from the world, just like we do with our ears and our eyes. Let's discover how AI listens and looks and how you can stay safe when using any tech that involves your voice or your face. So what is voice in AI? Voice simply means sound, like talking, asking questions or giving command. So some AIs, like smart speakers, for example Alexa or Google, can hear people speak and respond. For example, grownups might say hey, what's the weather, play music or set a timer. The AI listens and answers. This is called voice recognition, when AI hears words and figures out what to do. But here's what you need to know If you're a kid, you should never use voice devices without first asking a parent or grown-up. That includes Alexa, google, siri or anything else that listens. These tools might record your voice and you should always ask before sharing anything like that.

Speaker 1: 2:05

So what is vision in AI? Vision means seeing, so some AIs use cameras or images to look at the world. This is called computer vision. Ai with vision can help sort photos of animals, can recognize stop signs for self-driving cars and humans or pets that are walking in front of the car. It can also help robots or tools find the right objects. Ai doesn't see, like you and me. It looks at patterns, colors and shapes and then it makes a smart guess about what it's looking at.

Speaker 1: 2:38

But just like voice, ai vision isn't for kids to use alone. You should never turn on a camera in an app without asking a grown-up first. You should never share your face or home in a photo or video and you should never let a device see what's in your house without permission from your parents. All these devices are really cool and you may want to interact with them, but make sure you're working with your parents before you turn your camera on for any app. We want to make sure your face, your room, your family. Those are private and should stay private. So how else can you stay safe with voice and vision? Let's make a quick list of what's safe and what's not. So here's my safe to-do list.

Speaker 1: 3:18

You can ask a grown-up before using anything that listens or sees. That's a good thing to do. You can talk about what apps or toys are allowed in your house that your parents have already checked to make sure they're safe, to ensure that you have the right tools that are safe for you, and then you can ask questions if you're not sure. We always want you to do that. What's not safe to do? Don't use voice assistance without permission. If your parents have allowed you to use things like Alexa and Google, that's totally fine, but we want to make sure you get their permission first. Don't give your name, your school or address to any device. Devices are listening and bad actors are bad. People can get access to different information if you're using the wrong type of app. So you want to make sure you do not give out your personal information to any app or any device. And then, lastly, don't let apps use your camera without help, meaning without help from your parents. So if there's an app that's asking to see your face or asking to see your home, make sure you talk with your parents and, above all else, if something ever feels weird or an app asks to hear or see you, pause and tell a grownup right away and they can help you make a decision on if that's something you all are going to allow in your house.

Speaker 1: 4:31

So, as always, let's try a game. This is called Try it At Home Voice and Vision Challenge. So let's play a game that helps you understand how AI hears and sees. Here's the voice game. One person is the AI, another gives a command like hop like a bunny. The AI has to listen and follow. Try saying it fast, slow or in a silly voice and see if the AI still gets it right. The other game is called a vision game. I want you to gather toys, snacks or blocks or anything you have in your home, and then the AI you or your friend has to group them by something they see, like color, size or shape, but no touching or talking and at the end you have to guess or whoever is not the AI has to guess and figure out what is the category that the AI is seeing Is it color, is it size, Is it shape and go from there. This is just like how AI tools listen to sounds or look at pictures to figure out what's going on. So what's next? I hope you enjoyed learning about voice and vision, but next time we're off to the letter W and it's going to be wonderful, wild and full of web-powered AI tools you might not even know are all around us.

Speaker 1: 5:48

If you liked today's episode, ask your parents to leave a review so more families can discover AI for Kids and grown-ups. Sign up for our newsletter at wwwaidigitalescom backslash newsletter for fun updates and tech tips made just for you. Until next time, remember your voice and your face are yours. Always ask before you share and always remain curious. All right, folks, have a good one. Bye-bye. Thank you for joining us as we explore the fascinating world of artificial intelligence. Don't keep this adventure to yourself. Download it, share it with your friends and let everyone else in on the fun. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts or on YouTube. See you next time on AI for Kids.