“Introduction to Data Science and the role of Network Analysis and Artificial Intelligence” at Frankfurt International School (FIS)

On Saturday, 20 January 2024, we held our mutual workshop with Frankfurt International School. It was amazing to see that despite the weekend, and the added workload for 11th and 12th grade students, who had just completed exams, numerous students participated, that had successfully applied for the workshop before, and were selected by FIS.

During the day we discussed the development of Narrow Artificial Intelligence over the last roughly 70 years, and the numerous breakthroughs, in terms of hardware and software (including algorithms), in areas such as:

• Machine Learning
• Natural Language Processing (such as machine translation and machine search)
• and e.g. Robotics

We also looked at Large Language Models and the methodology behind e.g. Deep Learning. Another major focus was Network Analysis/Science and its major role in Narrow AI. Hereby we focused on the different network models (including centrality measures):

• Social networks
• Organizational networks
• Meta Networks

and also the future role of Knowledge Graphs.

The students, who did a great job and were very active participants, were also involved in developing a supervised machine learning algorithm (based on multiple linear regression), and an Ecosystem Intelligence process geared towards developing an intelligence solution for monitoring the sports industry (specifically looking at the ecosystem of a major sports brand).

The workshop helped to demystify the AI space, make all the relevant developments tangible, and highlight the opportunities and challenges going forward. It also helped the students to understand how it can be applied in their context, and specifically by organizations, understanding also the crucial importance of the human element. The students also understood the importance of human ingenuity in the process, and the role of data quality (garbage in, and out), data structure, and availability, to ask the right questions, and avoid biases.

We are very proud of the 10+ year cooperation with Frankfurt International School, and the quality of students in our mutual initiatives always surprises us. It was an amazing experience, and we all learned a lot from each other.