AI for High School: Careers and Identity
Students examine how AI is transforming careers and workplace tasks while building human skills for responsible, creative, and effective AI use.
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AI for High School: Careers and Identity
Approximate Total Time: 5 class periods (approximately 45–50 minutes each; additional portfolio development time may be helpful)
Recommended for Ages 14+ (high school)
About This Unit
In this unit, students explore how artificial intelligence is transforming careers, workplace practices, creativity, and professional identity. Students begin by examining AI's impact on jobs and the future workforce, distinguishing between automation and augmentation while identifying durable human skills that remain essential in an AI-driven world. They then investigate how AI tools can support workplace tasks while learning to evaluate AI-generated outputs for accuracy, privacy, and responsible use.
As the unit progresses, students explore the relationship between human creativity and generative AI through artistic collaboration, prompt design, and critical reflection. Students apply these skills to elements of their personal brand and consider how AI-generated content can influence professional communication and self-representation. The unit culminates in an AI Digital Portfolio showcasing student learning, reflections, responsible AI practices, and future aspirations.
Lessons
1. Careers and AI
Students investigate how AI is changing careers and workplace tasks, distinguish automation from augmentation, explore AI Critical Users and AI Creators, and identify durable human skills needed in an AI-driven economy.
2. Using AI to Support Workplace Tasks
Students use a large language model to complete a fictional workplace task while protecting personal information and auditing AI-generated content for accuracy, hallucinations, and authentic voice.
3. AI, Identity, and Creativity
Students collaborate with an AI image-generation tool to create representations of identity, refine prompts through iteration, and reflect on human agency, machine agency, artistic intent, and creative responsibility.
4. Building Your Personal Brand with AI
Students use prompt engineering and image-generation tools to develop visual representations of a personal brand while considering how AI-generated content influences professional identity, communication, and perception.
5. AI Digital Portfolio
Students synthesize learning from across the unit into an AI Digital Portfolio that communicates their AI literacy, responsible AI practices, personal growth, skills, and future academic and career aspirations.