The University of Sheffield has launched ‘Let’s Talk AI’, a first-of-its-kind pilot campaign that uses webtoons (digital comics designed to scroll vertically) to raise AI awareness among the general public. The initiative is informed by community-based research and addresses the need for accessible and ‘identifiable’ communication to support better public understanding of AI technology. Stories exploring AI in the media, day-to-day life, and in schools will be popping up around Sheffield – and further afield – so keep an eye out.
What is ‘Let’s Talk AI’?
Launching on social media and on bus stops across Sheffield, Plymouth, and Morecambe and Lancaster, the pilot consists of three webtoon stories covering AI in the media, AI in everyday life and AI in schools. Each one addresses the real fears and questions people have about AI.
The campaign is supported by a resource hub at Letstalkai.org.uk with advice for anyone wanting to understand AI better.
What inspired the stories?
Led by Dr Susan Oman, the project spent six months running community workshops across all three locations, asking members of the public what they want to know about AI and how they want it communicated. She said: “Government AI skills initiatives focus on upskilling the workforce and schools, but there’s nothing to encourage healthy discussions and informed usage for the rest of us. The grandparent navigating scam emails, the parent trying to keep up with what their children are doing online, or for anyone encountering AI for the first time. Let’s Talk AI is designed to fill that gap.”
Dr Oman, who is a Senior Lecturer in Data, AI and Society at the University of Sheffield, worked with Plymouth-based comic artist Kitty McEwan to translate the real conversations from the workshops into stories, featuring characters drawn directly from participants’ fears, questions and experiences. Some of the characters were directly inspired by participants the team spoke to during the workshops.
The idea to put the campaign on bus stops came from Margaret Colling, a retired librarian from Morecambe and one of the campaign’s most vocal champions, who’d never used AI before getting involved in the project.
The public deserves better information on AI
The pilot builds on ‘Public Voices in AI’, a £1 million UKRI research project in responsible AI which found the public wants and deserves better information about the technology. ‘Let’s Talk AI’ is funded by an AI Skills Award from the EPSRC and is supported by an expert advisory group including the Government Office for Science, the Ada Lovelace Institute and Connected by Data, complementing the campaign’s real experts: the members of the public who shaped it. The campaign was previewed at the International AI Impact summit in Delhi earlier this year.
Dr Susan Oman continued, said: “When we asked communities what they wanted, they told us they needed a better understanding of how AI works in their lives and the lives of people around them. They didn’t want webinars or reports, they wanted characters and stories they could identify with. This pilot shows what a national AI awareness campaign for the public could look like. Now we need the Government to back it.”
Kitty McEwan said: “With AI now being used to generate art, videos and even comics, it felt important that this campaign was unmistakably human-made and accessible to everyone, regardless of age, background or experience with AI. To match this, the webtoon artwork leans heavily towards celebrating human imperfection and tactile imagery full of rough, but real, lines and textures.”
To find out more, visit Letstalkai.org.uk.