US parents are packing their kids off to hundreds of AI summer camps

Some kids spend their summers swimming and building campfires. This year thousands will head to university and high school campuses to program robots, write software, and design video games. Artificial intelligence—the increasingly ubiquitous technology routing delivery trucks, sifting through job applicants’ resumes, and making small business lending decisions—is now a summer camp experience for ages five to 18.

At least 447 AI summer camps opened across 48 states in the US this year, according to an August report from Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology. Because US schools typically don’t cover the subject, these camps may offer one of the only chances for middle and high-school students to study AI, the report notes. Depending on their ages, campers may study programming languages, practice coding through video games like Minecraft and Roblox, or learn basic computer science concepts using Legos.

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