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Lesson

5 of 5 in Digital Life Skills

AI Literacy & IP

7-12th Grades
45 min

Summary

Copyright law was written for humans, not for AI systems trained on millions of images in seconds. This lesson unpacks plagiarism, fair use, and the murky question of who owns AI-generated content — and how to give proper credit in an AI-saturated world.

Activities

Bellringer: Spot the AI Image

  • Show two side-by-side images and ask students to silently guess which is AI-generated
  • Cold-call 1-2 students to explain their reasoning before revealing the answer
5 min

Instruction

  • Define intellectual property, copyright, patents, and trademarks
  • Distinguish plagiarism (taking credit) from fair use (transformation, not just attribution)
  • Explain the AI training controversy — companies vs. creators arguments
10 min

Discussion: Is AI Inspired or Stealing?

  • Quick vote: is AI just "learning" like a human, or copying without permission?
  • Turn & Talk, then share out 2-3 opposing viewpoints
10 min

Activity: What AI Knows

  • Students work through the What AI Knows worksheet to test their understanding of how AI systems function
  • Circulate to prompt students to cite specific examples from the reading
15 min

Wrap-Up & Assessment

  • Does giving credit mean you aren't plagiarising?
  • Name one law that protects intellectual property.
5 min

Lesson Prep

What AI Knows thumbnail

What AI Knows

Students explore how AI works and potential risks.

Artificial Intelligence 101 thumbnail

Artificial Intelligence 101

Students will read about what Generative AI actually is and how it works.

Class Presentation

Includes a 17-slide deck with teacher notes. Present from Banzai, download a PDF, or copy it to Google Slides.

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  • Teacher NotesSlide-by-slide guidance, printable as one handout

Digital Life Skills

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