A moment of the “Aula G” laboratory with the middle school children of the Maria Ausiliatrice Institute of Reggio Calabria in Reggio Calabria
They are all aged between 11 and 13, but they already know how to use Gpt apps, they are able to conduct a training session machine learning and create beautiful images with the most advanced artificial intelligence software. The students of the middle schools of the Maria Ausiliatrice Institute of Reggio Calabria followed a training itinerary on artificial intelligence proposed within the “Aula G” journalistic laboratory edited by the diocesan weekly of the archdiocese of Reggio Calabria-Bova, Avvenire di Calabria, back of Avvenire.
The first “Proofreader” app had already been released in January. Then, in February, machine learning sessions began to train six new artificial intelligence applications: the objective pursued is to support journalists in sharing their articles on social networks.
What are the six applications of social mentor Gpt? Let’s start with the first five: each of them is specialized for sharing journalistic articles on a single social network. In detail, the app is available for Facebook, another for Instagram, yet another for X (formerly Twitter), those dedicated to LinkedIn and, the last one, designed to create posts for Threads. These apps social mentor Gpt (at the bottom of the article all the links where to find them) they receive the link to an article from the user and automatically prepare four sharing drafts for the social network for which they are programmed (only the LinkedIn app prepares two drafts instead of four) .
The sixth Gpt app, called “Social mentor one”, is the synthesis of the first five. This, in fact, does not prepare four drafts for the same social network, but prepares a single post proposal for each social network (Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn and Threads). Social mentor one Gpt was the last app approved by the promising young people of the Maria Ausiliatrice Institute: the last machine learning session took place on May 7th.
The first apps had already been presented publicly on March 1st by the pupils Gaia and Rebecca (13 years old), during the report on the digital transition held by the director of Avvenire, Marco Girardo, during a training event organized by the archdiocese of Reggio Calabria in collaboration with the Order of Journalists of Calabria.
The “Aula G” laboratory aroused the interest of all the students and their parents (some even asked to participate in the machine learning sessions with their children). For this reason, the educational activities carried out through the use of Artificial Intelligence will not stop with the end of the school year, but will also continue during the children’s summer, until 20 July.
Archbishop Morrone expressed the pastoral perspective of this initiative: «With artificial intelligence we have definitely entered a new world, almost a new continent, full of opportunities and also unknowns as has already happened in some critical but decisive for the path of humanity. We are called with critical intelligence to inhabit these new territories, paying the right attention to what is already underway, but contributing to their development with our contents and our presence”. The presence of the Church, continues Morrone, «is necessary to direct and orient the new generations who are already inside, while we boomers have remained a little outside. This is a great challenge, a great opportunity where thought is provoked: let’s face it together. It’s about thinking differently, in a different way, but with anthropological and ethical demands that are fundamental for us Christians. It is a way in which we can bring the eternal Gospel into these new agoras, which in essence is the promotion of humanity in every sense.”
The principal of the Maria Ausiliatrice School, Sister Maria Ausilia Chiellino, who is also a clinical psychologist and head of the Child Protection Service of the archdiocese of Reggio Calabria-Bova, underlined «how this teaching activity carried out with Avvenire di Calabria not only trains new skills, but it also provides all the elements necessary to distinguish what is true from what is false. Our students have everything they need to “recognize” contents (texts, photos, videos) generated with AI, this too is the prevention of distorted use of artificial intelligence and, more generally, it is a protection service against of the minor and his family”.
The director of Avvenire di Calabria, Davide Imeneo, specified how this activity «fits fully into the theme chosen by the Pope for the World Day of Social Communications which is celebrated on Sunday 12 May: “Artificial intelligence and wisdom of the heart: for fully Human”. The activities of the Aula G laboratory are aimed at developing a fully human use of artificial intelligence: the children are invited to collaborate to overcome the problems that arise during the machine learning sessions. They have learned how to fully exploit the potential of AI and know how to use artificial intelligence in a proactive way.” The programming phase of the applications was handled by the director of the diocesan weekly of the Church of Reggio Calabria: «The archdiocese of Reggio Calabria-Bova – says Imeneo – accepted the Pope’s invitation contained in the message for the World Day of Social Communications: “Artificial intelligence systems can facilitate the exchange of information between different generations.” During the programming of the Apps – continues the priest – we witnessed this “exchange between different generations”, where, however, it was not the adults who “taught” but the younger ones: our goal is to grow together, favoring an approach constructive to artificial intelligences”.
The applications are already available on the OpenAi store and run on ChatGpt 4, they have been made available to the digital community free of charge. They are: Social Mentor Gpt for Facebook; Social Mentor Gpt for Instagram; Social Mentor Gpt for X; Social Mentor Gpt for LinkedIn; Social Mentor Gpt for Threads; Social Mentor Gpt One.
