Febbraio, 2022

Adorable, operatic blobs. A global, online guessing game. Scribbles that transform into works of art. These may not sound like they’re part of a curriculum, but learning the basics of how artificial intelligence (AI) works doesn’t have to be complicated, super-technical or boring.

To celebrate Digital Learning Day, we’re releasing a new lesson from Applied Digital Skills, Google’s free, online, video-based curriculum (and part of the larger Grow with Google initiative). “Discover AI in Daily Life” was designed with middle and high school students in mind, and dives into how AI is built, and how it helps people every day.

AI for anyone — and everyone

“Twenty or 30 years ago, students might have learned basic typing skills in school,” says Dr. Patrick Gage Kelley, a Google Trust and Safety user experience researcher who co-created (and narrates) the “Discover AI in Daily Life” lesson. “Today, ‘AI literacy’ is a key skill. It’s important that students everywhere, from all backgrounds, are given the opportunity to learn about AI.”

“Discover AI in Daily Life” begins with the basics. You’ll find simple, non-technical explanations of how a machine can “learn” from patterns in data, and why it’s important to train AI responsibly and avoid unfair bias.

First-hand experiences with AI

“By encouraging students to engage directly with everyday tools and experiment with them, they get a first-hand experience of the potential uses and limitations of AI,” says Dr. Annica Voneche, the lesson’s learning designer. “Those experiences can then be tied to a more theoretical explanation of the technology behind it, in a way that makes the often abstract concepts behind AI tangible.”

Guided by Google’s AI Principles, the lesson also explores why it’s important to develop AI systems responsibly. Developed with feedback from a student advisor and several middle- and high-school teachers, the lesson is intended for use in a wide range of courses, not just in computer science (CS) or technology classes.

“It’s crucial for students, regardless of whether they are CS students or not, to understand why the responsible development of AI is important,” says Tammi Ramsey, a high school teacher who contributed feedback. “AI is becoming a widespread phenomenon. It’s part of our everyday lives.”

Whether taught in-person or remotely, teachers can use the lesson’s three- to six-minute videos as tools to introduce a variety of students to essential AI concepts. “We want students to learn how emerging technologies, like AI, work,” says Sue Tranchina, a teacher who contributed to the lesson. “So students become curious and inspired to not just use AI, but create it.”

With over three billion players showing strong engagement worldwide, the games market continues to remain resilient and grow beyond expectations. As we look ahead this year, the influx of new and returning players creates a great opportunity for developers to grow their games business.

TheGoogle for Games Developer Summit returns digitally on March 15, 2022 at 9AM Pacific. From mobile to cloud, learn about our new solutions for game developers that make it easier to build high-quality games and reach audiences around the world.

The event keynote kicks off at 9AM Pacific and is open for all. Check out the full agenda today at g.co/gamedevsummit.

Can I trust this app with my data? Is this app respecting my privacy rights? These are questions consumers are asking more and more about mobile apps and the developers who create them. In turn, developers are faced with a privacy and compliance landscape that is becoming increasingly more complex. And the path to compliance can be both time-consuming and difficult.

We believe every developer — no matter the stage or size of their company — deserves access to easy-to-use tools that help them achieve their goals, while making privacy compliance simpler.

That’s why today, as part of Google’s in-house incubator Area 120, we’re launching Checks, a new privacy platform. We are on a mission to help simplify privacy and reduce risk for mobile app developers.

A shared passion to help developers succeed

In 2018, as the world prepared for the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), we were hearing that mobile app developers were struggling to feel prepared to meet the new privacy expectations under GDPR, and they hoped Google could help. Having previously built tools like Android Vitals to address developers’ technical challenges, we had an idea to use Google’s artificial intelligence and resources to create a new product to help mobile app developers address their privacy compliance needs. Since we worked together for years on Google Play, we knew we could bring this vision to life as a team.

Joining Area 120 allowed us to focus full-time on creating a solution that simplifies privacy for developers distributing on both Android and iOS. Over the past two years, our team has spent time listening to feedback from hundreds of mobile app developers on their approach to privacy, and partnered closely with 40 highly-engaged early adopters to refine our product and roadmap. We believe Checks will help mobile app developers of all sizes save time by replacing complicated processes and providing automated privacy insights.

Greater confidence for app developers

We’ve heard developers say it’s difficult to keep pace with regulatory and app store policy changes, and determine how those changes apply to their apps. Checks helps developers gain confidence to make informed decisions by identifying potential compliance issues, providing clear actionable insights in simple language, and offering links to relevant resources.

Save time and money

Teams are able to better collaborate across legal, business and engineering roles on the Checks platform. Our product provides everyone access to the same unique insights — without the customer having to perform any technical integrations — which helps reduce the number of messages, meetings and documents necessary to track down information. Teams can focus on evaluating what actions to take and respond faster.

Gain visibility

Software Developer Kits (SDKs) can change their functionality at any time, sometimes without the app developer knowing it. Checks helps mobile app developers who use SDKs by detecting when their app’s data sharing practices have changed and then sending them an automated alert. If the change was not intended, the developer can further investigate where the new data is being shared and make necessary changes.

Help completing Google Play’s Data safety section

Many mobile app developers are still preparing for the launch of Google Play’s Data safety section, which will give end users more transparency into what data apps collect or share and how apps use their data. Checks can help developers get started by identifying what information they may need to declare and the basis for the recommendation. This can help them feel confident as they decide what to include.

Request early access today

We want to help developers build mobile apps that their users can enjoy and trust. We look forward to continuing to work closely with developers to ensure Checks provides solutions that developers need.

If you’re working on privacy compliance for mobile apps, visit checks.area120.google.com to learn more and get started today.

For as long as Google.org has been around, we’ve supported big ideas to change the world by funding organizations led by dynamic individuals. We backed Sal Khan’s Khan Academy when he was creating it from his walk-in closet in 2010; today more than 70 million people have used the service to help improve their academic outcomes. Or GiveDirectly co-founders Michael Faye and Paul Niehaus, who’ve grown their initial idea for direct cash assistance from a private giving circle to one of the fastest-growing nonprofits of the decade.

So, we asked ourselves: Who are the nonprofit leaders of today who will help create a better tomorrow? The answer: These seven individuals from around the world who are driving real-world change in their communities and finding unexpected solutions to complex challenges across equity, education, health and sustainability. Take a look at Google.org’s Leaders to Watch for 2022.

We know firsthand the great work that these leaders do at their organizations; collectively their nonprofits have received millions in funding from Google.org over the past few years. Now we’re going beyond funding the organizations, to focus on supporting the development of individuals behind the work.

No two leaders are in the same stage of their career, so we’re giving them each a financial award of $30,000 to spend how they see fit. We’ve seen the power that direct cash assistance can have through our grantees (for example GiveDirectly) and believe that each leader will know best how to spend their award for their own development.

There is also great power in being able to exchange ideas with fellow leaders, so in addition to creating opportunities for the leaders to learn from each other, they will each also receive mentorship from directors and vice presidents at Google who will be able to provide coaching tailored to their needs. Mentors will include Engineering Director Mekka Okereke, and VP of Marketing in India, Sapna Chadha.

The work of these Leaders to Watch is inspiring, daring and optimistic, and we can’t wait to see what they accomplish in the coming years.