The FARO lab ignites awareness on AI

The FARO lab is the beating heart of the PLT activities within the broader Erasmus+ Youth AI Lab project. Its fundamental mission is to raise young people's awareness and competence in the field of artificial intelligence, moving beyond simple use to embrace an active role. FARO aims to train new generations as builders and architects of AI, not just critical users. The focus is on the conception, development, and training of a proprietary LLM for a practical understanding of mechanisms, biases, and personalisation. By integrating AI with robotics, participants experiment with how their LLM can control physical systems. FARO is a talent forge that trains the future craftsmen of AI and robotics with advanced ethical and technical awareness.

The Protagonists: The Young Innovators of Naples

The workshops feature a group of sixteen-year-olds from the "Alessandro Volta" Technical Institute in Naples. Despite varying foundational knowledge, these "digital natives" share a vibrant curiosity and a desire to dismantle the "magical" effect of AI to understand its daily mechanisms.

Mentors and Method: Learn by Doing

The lab is led by a young team (24-25 years old) composed of Andrea di Donato, Giovanni F. Comune, and Tammaro Cimmino, with senior supervision from Salvatore Bramante and Michael Mirzaagha. Our approach breaks the mold of traditional schooling: less abstract theory and more concrete impact through direct practice.

Workshop 1: Keep an Eye on AI

The first meeting, held on February 11, 2026, brought the outside world into the Volta's computer lab. The kids, divided into groups and armed with observation sheets, identified "invisible" AI in smart traffic lights and navigation systems. Participants learned to distinguish between simple automation and true Machine Learning, understanding how data influences the decisions of urban systems.

Workshop 2: Illusion is all that matter

On March 11, 2026, we went beyond the surface, exploring the "mind" of machines. Through reinforcement learning, participants saw how a virtual agent learns by "trial and error" using a reward system. The workshop concluded with a challenge: designing the concept for a robot focused on the UN SDGs, to address challenges like climate change. AI does not "think" like a human, but it can be trained to solve the planet's biggest problems.

Conclusions and Next Steps

Feedback from the young people confirms that seeing the real impact of technology increases their ethical and technical awareness. The journey is still long, and our youth have much to learn. The next steps will focus on exploring artificial intelligence algorithms by formulating questions. Don't miss our next events! Visit the section dedicated to the Italian FARO lab: https://www.youth-ai-lab.eu/italy