High School Students Create Alexa-like Assistants at UCI ProperData Summer Camp
July 16, 2024 – High school students from across Orange County learned how to create their own versions of Alexa-like voice assistants at a UC Irvine STEM summer program on "Privacy, IoT and AI". The summer program was organized by the ProperData Center, a National Science Foundation Secure and Trustworthy Cyberspace Frontiers (SaTC) project on data privacy research, at the UCI Samueli School of Engineering.
No computer science or engineering background was required of the students who in one week learned how to build their own voice assistant from scratch using Rasberry Pi, python programming, and OpenAI interfaces to connect to ChatGPT.
In addition to programming the devices to answer questions, students invented new personalities for them. Some voice assistants were sweet, some were charming, and some had a downright attitude. Karen, when asked for help, would say, “Well aren’t you just full of demands today. What do you want now?” Another one named Leo was more encouraging: he spoke with a humorous and sassy tone, saying “Slay, honey” or “Period” before or after each response.
Some of the AI assistants had other signature traits created by the students. BenTheTalkingDog was cheerful when asked to go for a walk. GigglesGPT was funny and had his own custom voice and laugh. Coach Clippy was an expert in sports. Another named Scarlett had a calm soothing voice to help users relax when interacting with her.
“I’m surprised I could make a voice assistant,” said Scarlett’s creator Olivia Clarke, a junior from Corona del Mar High School. “It seems like it would be difficult, but they broke it down step by step. It was a really fun experience.” Clarke’s partner Julia Rezko, a junior at Sunny Hills High School, said of the camp, “My favorite part was getting to meet new people who all like computer science. We get to build off what we each like and learn from each other. It’s really cool.”
Marilyne Tamayo, the assistant director of ProperData, was responsible for the organization and programming, bringing a wealth of experience in high school outreach. Graduate students and researchers of ProperData led the instruction of modules, which taught participants about Internet-of-Things (IoT), data privacy, python programming, AI and ChatGPT, but also authentication and deepfakes. "All of our students had a strong appetite to learn programming," Tamayo said. "It was extremely rewarding to see them build a strong foundational CS skillset and to start building a network of like-minded individuals who will help them pursue higher education and careers in STEM."
“We want to raise awareness of the data collection that happens online, the privacy implications and the use of AI in everyday life,” said ProperData Director Athina Markopoulou, a UCI professor of electrical engineering and computer science. “We also want students to think as engineers, how they can use these technologies, and start thinking about careers in those fields.”
The participants also attended panel discussions that offered insight into college admissions and STEM careers and presented their devices and posters at the symposium at the end of the week.
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Many students thought the opportunity to meet professionals in the field was most memorable. “Definitely the best thing that came out of this was meeting all the mentors, grad students and professors here,” said Zach Piedad, a senior at University High School. “The panels were great, especially being able to talk to people in this field and see how our burgeoning interests would be helpful in college.”
The ProperData Center focuses on “Protecting Personal Data on the Internet” and is funded by the National Science Foundation -- a SATC Frontiers project. It does research on privacy and data transparency and develops technologies that give more control to people and regulators over data collection and use.
With the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), data available online has been used to train AI models, which has led to more concerns. “In the short run, one concern is the use of generative AI for deepfakes – soon we won’t be able to tell what is real or not, online,” said Markopoulou. This is something that students experienced hands-on in this program. "AI is already here, used in everyday life, but it is coming in even bigger ways," she says. "In the long run, there are fears over super intelligent computers taking over, and thus a need to better understand and control modern AI and AI-driven systems.”
ProperData’s summer program aims to empower young people with knowledge and skills in this important arena and give them a vision for a potential career. “It’s an exciting time to be pursuing a STEM career especially in AI and AI-driven systems,” said Markopoulou. “There are many fun and meaningful problems to work on.”
- Natalie Tso
