PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

This puzzle game shows kids how they’re smarter than AI

2025-07-01
(Press-News.org) While the current generation of artificial intelligence chatbots still flub basic facts, the systems answer with such confidence that they’re often more persuasive than humans.

Adults, even those such as lawyers with deep domain knowledge, still regularly fall for this. But spotting errors in text is especially difficult for children, since they often don’t have the contextual knowledge to sniff out falsehoods.

University of Washington researchers developed the game AI Puzzlers to show kids an area where AI systems still typically and blatantly fail: solving certain reasoning puzzles. In the game, users get a chance to solve ‘ARC’ puzzles (short for Abstraction and Reasoning Corpus) by completing patterns of colored blocks. They can then ask various AI chatbots to solve the puzzles and have the systems explain their solutions — which they nearly always fail to do accurately. The team tested the game with two groups of kids. They found the kids learned to think critically about AI responses and discovered ways to nudge the systems toward better answers.

Researchers presented their findings June 25 at the Interaction Design and Children 2025 conference in Reykjavik, Iceland.

“Kids naturally loved ARC puzzles and they’re not specific to any language or culture,” said lead author Aayushi Dangol, a UW doctoral student in human centered design and engineering. “Because the puzzles rely solely on visual pattern recognition, even kids that can’t read yet can play and learn. They get a lot of satisfaction in being able to solve the puzzles, and then in seeing AI — which they might consider super smart — fail at the puzzles that they thought were easy.”

ARC puzzles were developed in 2019 to be difficult for computers but easy for humans because they demand abstraction: being able to look at a few examples of a pattern, then apply it to a new example. Current cutting-edge AI models have improved at ARC puzzles, but they’ve not caught up with humans.

Researchers built AI Puzzlers with 12 ARC puzzles that kids can solve. They can then compare their solutions to those from various AI chatbots; users can pick the model from a drop-down menu. An “Ask AI to Explain” button generates a text explanation of its solution attempt. Even if the system gets the puzzle right, its explanation of how is frequently inaccurate. An “Assist Mode” lets kids try to guide the AI system to a correct solution.

“Initially, kids were giving really broad hints,” Dangol said. “Like, ‘Oh, this pattern is like a doughnut.’ An AI model might not understand that a kid means that there’s a hole in the middle, so then the kid needs to iterate. Maybe they say, ‘A white space surrounded by blue squares.’”

The researchers tested the system at the UW College of Engineering’s Discovery Days last year with over 100 kids from grades 3 to 8. They also led two sessions with the KidsTeam UW, a project that works with a group of kids to collaboratively design technologies. In these sessions, 21 children ages 6-11 played AI Puzzlers and worked with the researchers.

“The kids in KidsTeam are used to giving advice on how to make a piece of technology better,” said co-senior author Jason Yip, a UW associate professor in the Information School and KidsTeam director. “We hadn't really thought about adding the Assist Mode feature, but during these co-design sessions, we were talking with the kids about how we might help AI solve the puzzles and the idea came from that.”

Through the testing, the team found that kids were able to spot errors both in the puzzle solutions and in the text explanations from the AI models. They also recognize differences in how human brains think and how AI systems generate information. “This is the internet’s mind,” one kid said. “It’s trying to solve it based only on the internet, but the human brain is creative.”

The researchers also found that as kids worked in Assist Mode, they learned to use AI as a tool that needs guidance rather than as an answer machine.

“Kids are smart and capable,” said co-senior author Julie Kientz, a UW professor and chair in human centered design and engineering. “We need to give them opportunities to make up their own minds about what AI is and isn't, because they're actually really capable of recognizing it. And they can be bigger skeptics than adults.”

Runhua Zhao and Robert Wolfe, both doctoral students in the Information School, and Trushaa Ramanan, a master’s student in human centered design and engineering, are also co-authors on this paper. This research was funded by The National Science Foundation, the Institute of Education Sciences and the Jacobs Foundation’s CERES Network.

For more information, contact Dangol at adango@uw.edu, Yip at jcyip@uw.edu, and Kientz at jkientz@uw.edu.

END


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Study suggests remembrances of dead played role in rise of architecture in Andean region

2025-07-01
By Greg Watry, UC Davis Archaeologists have long thought that monumental architecture — large, human-built structures that emphasize visibility — were products of societies with power structures, including social hierarchy, inequality and controlled labor forces. But this notion is being questioned as researchers uncover evidence that hunter-gatherer groups also built such structures. In new research published June 24 in the journal Antiquity, University of California researchers report evidence of monumental structures built by hunter-gatherer groups at Kaillachuro, a collection of burial mounds located in the Titicaca Basin of the ...

Brain stimulation can boost math learning in people with weaker neural connections

2025-07-01
The strength of certain neural connections can predict how well someone can learn math, and mild electrically stimulating these networks can boost learning, according to a study published on July 1st in the open-access journal PLOS Biology by Roi Cohen Kadosh from University of Surrey, United Kingdom, and colleagues. When it comes to cognitive skills like reading and math, early advantages tend to compound over time. Mathematical abilities, however, seem to plateau from childhood to adulthood, raising the possibility that innate brain characteristics ...

Inhibiting enzyme could halt cell death in Parkinson’s disease, study finds

2025-07-01
Putting the brakes on an enzyme might rescue neurons that are dying due to a type of Parkinson’s disease that’s caused by a single genetic mutation, according to a new Stanford Medicine-led study conducted in mice. The genetic mutation causes an enzyme called leucine-rich repeat kinase 2, or LRRK2, to be overactive. Too much LRRK2 enzyme activity changes the structure of brain cells in a way that disrupts crucial communication between neurons that make the neurotransmitter dopamine and cells in the striatum, ...

Neurotechnology reverses biological disadvantage in maths learning

2025-07-01
Safe, painless, and non-invasive brain stimulation could help people who are at risk of falling behind in maths, according to a new study led by the University of Surrey.  The study, published in PLoS Biology, found that applying safe electrical currents to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) – a region involved in learning and memory, focus, and problem-solving – helped people aged 18 to 30 solve maths problems more efficiently.  Seventy-two healthy adults took part in a five-day maths training programme – 24 received a form of brain stimulation known as transcranial random noise stimulation (tRNS) to the dlPFC, ...

UNDER EMBARGO: Neurotechnology reverses biological disadvantage in maths learning

2025-07-01
Under embargo until July 1, 2025 at 11am PST / 2pm EST / 7pm GMT)  Neurotechnology reverses biological disadvantage in maths learning    Safe, painless, and non-invasive brain stimulation could help people who are at risk of falling behind in maths, according to a new study led by the University of Surrey.    The study, published in PLoS Biology, found that applying safe electrical currents to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) – a region involved in learning and memory, focus, and problem-solving – helped people aged 18 to ...

Scientists target ‘molecular machine’ in the war against antimicrobial resistance

2025-07-01
Scientists have studied a new target for antibiotics in the greatest detail yet – in the fight against antibiotic resistance. The ‘molecular machine’ flagellum is essential for bacteria to cause infection, allowing bacteria to ‘swim’ around the bloodstream until finding something to infect. But it could also be a target for antibiotics. Impairing the flagellum would deliver a critical, but not fatal, blow to bacteria. This is a new approach and contrasts to traditional antibiotics, which are designed to kill all bacteria ...

Extending classical CNOP method for deep-learning atmospheric and oceanic forecasting

2025-07-01
In recent years, deep learning methods have been increasingly applied in atmospheric and oceanic forecasting, showing superior forecast skills. Unlike time-stepping numerical models, deep learning forecasting models (DLMs) typically adopt a “multi-time-slice input” structure. This structure breaks the deterministic causality in the time dimension that exists in the numerical models. In this case, the forecast errors in DLMs should be attributed to all input slices, rather than any single one. This fundamental difference limits the applicability of the classical conditional nonlinear optimal perturbation (CNOP) method, ...

Aston University research: Parents should encourage structure and independence around food to support children’s healthy eating

2025-07-01
Dr Katie Edwards studied the feeding practices of parents of children with ‘avid’ eating traits, which can lead to obesity Focusing on health or deciding when it is time for a meal or snack helps parents to use supportive feeding practices. Supportive feeding practices could include involving children in decisions about food, or sitting together for mealtimes New research from Aston University has shone a light on the best ways for parents to encourage healthy eating in their children. The ...

Thunderstorms are a major driver of tree death in tropical forests

2025-07-01
Trees in tropical forests are dying at an increased rate, with consequences for biodiversity, carbon storage, and the global climate. While deforestation is the primary cause of forest loss, intact forests are also experiencing a rise in tree death. Drought, higher temperatures, and fires have been the leading suspects, but a new paper led by Evan Gora, a forest ecologist at Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, identifies an underappreciated threat: thunderstorms, which are becoming more frequent with climate change. Not to be confused with hurricanes or cyclones, these convective storms ...

Danforth Plant Science Center adds two new faculty members

2025-07-01
ST. LOUIS, MO, July 1, 2025– The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center today announced two new faculty members. Justin Conover, PhD, joined as assistant member and Erin Sparks, PhD, joined as associate member at the Danforth Center and associate professor at the University of Missouri – Columbia (MU) a joint hire between the Danforth Center and MU. “We’re excited to welcome two exceptional scientists who will add new expertise and complement several research areas at the Danforth Center,” ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Economic evaluation of wastewater surveillance for COVID-19 testing in long-term care settings

Announcing Deep Origin as a sponsor of ARDD 2025

Cancer cells ‘power up’ when literally pressed to the limit

Huge hidden flood bursts through the Greenland ice sheet surface

The brain shapes what we feel in real time

New study confirms post-pandemic surge in gut-brain disorders

Through the shot glass, and what can be found in liverworts

Stepping for digital rewards

Developing next-generation analytical technique for gene and cell doping and ensuring ethics and fairness in sports

Debunking a life-threatening myth: "Tongue swallowing prevention" maneuvers delay CPR and might contribute to brain injury or death for collapsed athletes

Female pilots perform better under pressure, study finds

Hydroquinone-buffered covalent organic frameworks for long-term photocatalytic hydrogen peroxide production

From coal to chemicals: Breakthrough syngas catalysis powers green industrial future

AI detects the stiffness of cancer cell exosomes: DGIST develops deep learning-based lung cancer diagnostic technology

Positive ethnic identity fosters STEM career aspirations

Wildlife show wide range of responses to human presence in U.S. national parks

Great Tits show early signs of splitting up: Oxford researchers uncover social clues to bird 'divorce'

From the lab to the hand: nanodevice brings personalized genomics closer to reality

Women politicians receive more identity-based attacks on social media than men, study finds

Idaho National Laboratory accelerates nuclear energy projects with Amazon Web Services cloud and AI technologies

Kavraki elected to European Academy of Sciences

UK teens who currently vape as likely to start smoking as their peers in the 1970s

Higher ultra processed food intake linked to increased lung cancer risk

Exercise rehab lessens severity, frequency + recurrence of irregular heart rhythm (AF)

Deep heat beneath the United States traced to ancient rift with Greenland

Animals in national parks remained wary of human footprint during 2020 COVID shutdown

Stevens INI receives prestigious contract to advance women’s brain health

Fulbright funds OU professor’s biodiversity research

Antiviral treatment fails to slow early-stage Alzheimer’s

Can African countries meet 2030 childhood immunization goals?

[Press-News.org] This puzzle game shows kids how they’re smarter than AI