Designing Data Center City: A Games-based Pedagogical Approaches to AI Literacy

In this session developed with the Price Lab for Digital Humanities Dream Lab Digital Humanities in the Classroom, you will engage in hands-on games and activities developed by participants to explore alternative pedagogical approaches to understanding generative AI tools, and their socio-technical considerations. This session will also include notes on the local implications of data centers and more information around Penn-specific sustainability efforts. 

In this introductory workshop, participants will help design and test Data Center City, a board game where players work together to either build or block the construction of data centers in the Philadelphia area. Participants will draft game rules, create character backstories and motives, test gameplay, and more. We'll also learn more about what data centers are, why (and where) they're being built, and why various actors support or oppose their construction.

This is an in-person, beginner-friendly, non-technical workshop, that is a part of the AI Literacy Interest Group at Penn Libraries Book Club series, where we are discussing Empire of AI by Karen Hao this year.

• Potential takeaways from this session:

  • Understand the infrastructure behind how gen AI systems work

  • Minimal Computing pedagogical approaches

  • Educational game design strategies through interactive, participatory, craft-oriented activities

  • Call to Action and networking with Computational community of mindful practitioners at Penn and beyond

• Prerequisites:

  • No prior AI experience is required.

  • You are welcome to contextualize yourself to the session by reading Karen Hao’s Empire of AI.

• Software required:

  • No Device / Software Installation Required.

• About the Instructor:

  • Jaj Karajgikar: library.upenn.edu/staff/jajwalya-karajgikar

Image Credits: Hanna Barakat  & Archival Images of AI + AIxDESIGN / https://betterimagesofai.org / https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

This event is a part of the AI Literacy Interest Group at Penn Libraries Book Club series.