Adam Hinds on how the Kennedy Institute is shaping civic education in the USA

ETIH sits down with Adam Hinds, CEO of the Edward M. Kennedy Institute, to explore the launch of the Institute’s new AI policy program as part of their award-winning Senate Immersion Module.

Adam shares insights on how this initiative will enhance civic and digital literacy, helping students navigate key tech issues like AI, data privacy, and social media regulation in a hands-on, legislative environment.

ETIH: Can you tell the ETIH readers more about yourself? 

I’m a former state lawmaker who previously spent about ten years in the Middle East working for the United Nations on various conflict reduction negotiations. The two, unfortunately, are relevant for working on American democracy today and how we prepare the next generation to engage as democratic citizens.

In one of my terms in the Massachusetts State Senate I was the Vice Chair of the Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technology where we grappled with the implications of a range of emerging technologies and appropriate government engagement. 

ETIH: What inspired the Kennedy Institute to introduce a new AI policy program as part of the Senate Immersion Module? 

The teachers we work with drove our development of civic education programming on AI and data privacy. They told us students want to know more about how the big issues related to AI and data privacy are being considered by lawmakers.

The students in this generation now intuitively know about technology, understanding the balance between innovation and appropriate regulation of new technologies is where the discussion is headed and they want to be a part of that. 

ETIH: How do you see the integration of AI policy discussions enhancing students' civic and digital literacy? 

We’ve been fortunate to collaborate with members of the MIT Media Lab’s RAISE (Responsible AI for Social Empowerment and Education) initiative. Through that partnership, developing programs that apply a legislative lens to the interface of data technologies and individual rights, we’ve really come to appreciate how much civic literacy and digital literacy are intertwined.

As we are increasingly seeing applications of AI in healthcare, education, our judicial system, elections, and other aspects of civic life, it is really important for young people (and not so young people) to understand these technologies as part of the civic landscape. There are of course a range of other issues related to mis- and disinformation that impact our civic space as well. 

ETIH: In what ways do you believe understanding AI and data privacy will impact students' future roles as informed citizens? 

As our staff, many of whom are digital natives, were training on our new Technology Reform: Artificial Intelligence, Data Privacy, and Social Media Senate Immersion Module (SIM), it was eye-opening and a little sobering for them to consider all the ways in which their data is collected and used, and how AI is shaping our lives online and offline.

The hope is that programs like ours will help students consider the impacts of current and future AI and data technologies on their information and media landscape, their careers, and their personal and civic lives, and give them agency over their futures. It’s a new set of critical thinking skills for a well-informed electorate. 

ETIH: Why was it important to include data privacy and social media regulation in the new Technology Reform program? 

While running our Technology Reform program we often stress to students that artificial intelligence, data privacy, and social media may be separate topics, but they are also interconnected in a myriad of ways. If students are going to create comprehensive technology reform policy through our program we felt data privacy and social media were essential topics to cover.

They are also two issues that are directly relevant to the lives of the students we serve at the Institute. This is a generation that is growing up in a much more digital world where many of their social interactions take place over social media and their data is often tracked online. Child safety is a driving force behind many proposed technology regulations being debated in our legislature today, and it’s an issue both parties seem able to tackle in a bipartisan manner.

We try to center our SIM program around these real policy discussions going on in the United States Senate so the topics of data privacy and social media regulation gave us a unique opportunity to both reflect the actual policy considerations of Washington D.C. while simultaneously empowering our student groups by incorporating their lived experiences into the educational simulation. 

ETIH: What role can government education programs like SIM play in shaping future policy leaders, particularly in the tech sector? 

The impact of education programs like the SIM in shaping the next generation of policy leaders is twofold. On the one hand, through the program itself and the accompanying classroom resources we provide to educators, this program can impart key content knowledge regarding the tech sector.

Through the Technology Reform SIM students gain a deeper understanding of artificial intelligence, data privacy, and social media. This content knowledge will help students immediately by teaching them about everything from the importance of semiconductor chips to our modern economy, to the workplace surveillance practices many modern offices employ on a daily basis, and more.

The program also allows students to experience the lawmaking process, actually drafting and passing legislation instead of simply reading about how it is done on a slideshow in their classroom. Immediately after taking part in programs like the SIM students will be better equipped to succeed in the classroom, mastering the skills they need to progress educationally and professionally.

In addition to the immediate benefit of this program to students, we hope that the SIM will inspire an interest in technology, technology policy, and our government. Programs like the SIM give students an active educational experience where they get to literally take on the role of a United States Senator and craft policy that they feel will benefit the citizens of their state and the nation as a whole.

This hands-on simulation-based learning experience may inspire their course of study in college or their job applications after high school. We hope the SIM provides a jumping off point, lighting a fire within the next generation of American leaders to both inform them and inspire them to tackle the pressing issues of our time. 

ETIH: What is your long-term vision for the Kennedy Institute’s role in educating the next generation about technology and its impact on society? 

Given the increasingly digital nature of our society, educating the next generation about new technologies has become part of preparing them for civic life. We have led programs on intellectual property rights, the use of drones, and legislation that requires us to weigh privacy and national security, like the USA PATRIOT Act.

All of these legislative topics require students, voters, and lawmakers to understand the underlying technology to some degree. Our Technology Reform SIM does a great job of presenting the current legislative debate around AI, data privacy, and social media to middle school and high school students, and we will continue to evolve our program as the technology and civic implications evolve. Based on our work with MIT, we’ve also developed a program to help upper elementary students begin to grapple with how AI should be used in schools, hospitals, corporations, and law enforcement settings.

Beyond the program content, we hope to continue to grow our capacity and digital infrastructure to be able to work with more students across the country in a virtual learning setting. To date, we’ve worked with students in 44 states, and with many international student groups. We are working to expand access to our programs so that a student's zip code does not prevent them from learning critical lessons about technology and the civic process. 

ETIH: How does the Kennedy Institute adapt its programs to address current events and the changing political landscape? 

Whether the program is about voting rights, or climate and energy policy, or technology policy, we ensure our content is focused on where the legislative conversation is moving. Students interacting with the program informs periodic updates to our programs and how we facilitate them.

All of the content within the Technology Reform SIM program is based on real federal and state level legislation. The various provisions and amendments within the program include elements of The CHIPS and Science Act, the Stop Spying Bosses Act, multiple foreign aid packages, Massachusetts’ Responsible Robotics Act, Utah’s H.B. 464, Florida’s HB 3, and more.

From the beginning we wanted this program to include elements of the very legislation being considered about technology across the country. Given the constantly moving target of technology policy, we plan to update the program as needed to ensure students have the chance to participate in the same policy discussions as the senators they’re role playing.

ETIH: What role do you believe educators should play in fostering a culture of civic responsibility among students? 

Our mission as an organisation is to educate the public about the important role of the Senate in our government, encourage participatory democracy, invigorate civil discourse, and inspire the next generation of citizens and leaders to engage in the civic life of their communities, so it has always been important to us to support educators in the civic education of young people.

We believe that civic education is critically important to the health of our democracy, and we’re proud of the robust civic education frameworks and thoughtful civic education work being done in Massachusetts where we’re located. Our approach, and the approach of most of the educators we work with, is not to tell students what to think about an issue but to give them the tools to understand the history, context, and implications of civic interventions, or the lack thereof, and their roles as civic participants. 

ETIH: If you could host a dinner party with five key figures in the edtech world, who would they be, and why would you choose them? 

We are an Institute for the US Senate, so I think I would start with a dinner party of the Judiciary Committee’s subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law. What a great opportunity to take the pulse of the decision makers on the topics we are discussing! 

Sal Khan: Founder of Khan Academy, Sal Khan has provided an invaluable resource to students and educators to bolster their education. Khan has described his mission to, "accelerate learning for students of all ages… share[ing] our content with whoever may find it useful." His work in education aligns directly with our goals at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute to educate the public about the U.S. government and getting his input on both our programs and how we can expand our reach to teach tomorrow's leaders would be fantastic. 

Hal Abelson: As a professor of computer science and engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, it would be fascinating to speak with Dr. Abelson about the legislation itself being proposed in our government regarding technology and education, and our programs covering that very same legislation. 

Yoshua Bengio: Dr. Bengio is the world’s most-cited computer scientist, his thoughts on the edtech field would undoubtedly enhance the dinner conversation. Dr. Bengio co-founded Element AI, an artificial intelligence incubator that turns AI generated research into real world business applications. It would be interesting to hear his thoughts on whether a similar application could be applied to the education field, perhaps developing more comprehensive curriculum quickly and at low cost to benefit underserved student populations. 

Cynthia Breazeal - As founder of the Personal Robotics group and Director of the RAISE (Responsible AI for Social Empowerment and Education) initiative at the MIT Media Lab, Dr. Breazeal has done fascinating research into how we interact with machines and information, and has provided leadership in the equitable education of K-12 students about AI and responsible and responsive design practices.