Knowing Ourselves Through Others: Reflecting with AI in Digital Human Debates

TL;DR

This study investigates how Digital Humans, AI-powered entities created by students for debates, foster self-reflection and understanding of AI, proposing a new AI literacy approach called 'Reflecting with AI'.

Contribution

It introduces a novel method where students design Digital Humans to facilitate self-reflection and AI literacy through debate, expanding the understanding of AI's role in self-awareness.

Findings

Participants gained deeper understanding of AI capabilities.

Experiencing Digital Humans as others promoted self-reflection.

The approach proposes a new AI literacy framework.

Abstract

LLMs can act as an impartial other, drawing on vast knowledge, or as personalized self-reflecting user prompts. These personalized LLMs, or Digital Humans, occupy an intermediate position between self and other. This research explores the dynamic of self and other mediated by these Digital Humans. Using a Research Through Design approach, nine junior and senior high school students, working in teams, designed Digital Humans and had them debate. Each team built a unique Digital Human using prompt engineering and RAG, then observed their autonomous debates. Findings from generative AI literacy tests, interviews, and log analysis revealed that participants deepened their understanding of AI's capabilities. Furthermore, experiencing their own creations as others prompted a reflective attitude, enabling them to objectively view their own cognition and values. We propose "Reflecting with AI" - using AI to re-examine the self - as a new generative AI literacy, complementing the conventional understanding, applying, criticism and ethics.