KDDI, Ericsson link Tokyo and Sendai for first remote AI class

The two-day event was framed as a first for KDDI and Ericsson Japan, and it deliberately mixed two things: teaching children what generative AI is, and teaching them how to keep a safe distance from it. Before any hands-on work, the class covered not taking AI answers at face value and not entering personal information or secrets. Parents who sat in reportedly nodded along and said the material was something they could not cover at home.

The hands-on part started with a seasonal task — message cards to thank people close to them for Respect for the Aged Day — which let the children refine images through repeated back-and-forth with the AI. Only in the second half did the Tokyo and Miyagi children form mixed teams, discuss local problems they noticed themselves, and then ask what technology could improve the picture. Their answers ran from a city where drones carry greenery to one where a school becomes an amusement park.

KDDI presents the activity under its KDDI Mirai Co-Creation Program, whose stated aim is building an environment where children can learn without distance being a barrier. The same idea is being extended to adults through ongoing smartphone and AI classes at au Style and au shops nationwide, though KDDI notes availability differs by store.