Build a Teachable Machine Image Classifier With Your Kid

Issue 27 (January 3, 2024) • Hands-On AI Projects for Ages 8 to 16

Children today are surrounded by artificial intelligence, from the recommendation algorithms on YouTube to the voice assistants in our homes. However, most kids experience AI as passive consumers, viewing it as a form of digital magic rather than a tool built on data and logic. To prepare them for a future shaped by technology, we must help them transition from consumers to creators.

You do not need a computer science degree, expensive hardware, or a paid subscription to teach your child how machine learning works. Using a free, web-based tool developed by Google, you and your child (ideal for ages 8 to 16) can build, train, and test a custom image classifier in less than twenty minutes. This hands-on project demystifies AI, showing them exactly how computers learn to see the world.

Step 1: Set Up Your Workspace

To get started, sit down with your child at a laptop or desktop computer equipped with a working webcam. Open a web browser and navigate directly to Google Teachable Machine . This platform requires no login, no email registration, and is completely free to use.

Click on the "Get Started" button, then select "Image Project" followed by "Standard Image Model". You will see a clean interface divided into three main sections: Classes (your training data), Training (the learning phase), and Preview (the testing phase).

Step 2: Choose Your Classification Project

Before recording data, decide what you want your model to recognize. Simple, high-contrast objects work best. Here are three excellent starter ideas:

• The Toy Classifier: Train the computer to distinguish between a Lego brick and an action figure.
• The Snack Classifier: Train it to recognize an apple versus a banana.
• The Gesture Classifier: Train it to recognize a thumbs-up versus a peace sign.

For this guide, we will use the Gesture Classifier as our example. Rename "Class 1" to "Thumbs Up" and "Class 2" to "Peace Sign" by clicking the pencil icon next to each label.