THOMAS COUNTY, Ga. (WCTV) - Students at Thomas County Middle School are getting hands-on experience with artificial intelligence through a statewide education initiative.

The school is one of several participating in Artificial Intelligence for Georgia, known as AI4GA. Thomas County Middle School teacher Will Hanna said the program is a collaboration with the Georgia Department of Education and multiple universities.

“It’s going to be prevalent, and it already is prevalent,” Hanna said.

The nine-week course teaches students about AI in a relatable way.

“We can explore things like robots, self-driving vehicles and working with how language is acquired by computers and understood in process and how AI and computers can make decisions,” Hanna said.

Students aren’t just learning about AI in the program; they’re helping teach it, too. Some are featured in a video series explaining how AI is used in everyday life.

“It’s an opportunity for more people to get involved and more students to be exposed to it,” Hanna said.

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The curriculum has expanded to classrooms in Florida, Texas and New York, according to Hanna.

The program aims to open doors to STEM careers that students, like rising eighth grader Kealon Heald, may not have previously considered.

“I like to learn about it so I’m more aware and can tell people,” Heald said. “It helps your knowledge.”

The initiative is also designed to increase access to AI education, particularly for African American, Latino and rural students.

Rising eighth grader Achaia Reid said they have greatly expanded their knowledge of AI after the program.

“I never thought I would know deeply how AI works,” Reid said. “I was never interested, but then I learned about it, and I was like, yeah, this is interesting. This is fun.”

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