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AI glossary for kids and teens

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This AI glossary explains 24 words about how AI works, in plain language for kids and teens aged 8 to 18 and the adults who help them. Each word has a one-line definition below and its own page with an everyday example, a deeper section for older readers and a short no-screen activity.

Last reviewed: 20 October 2026 6 min read

Find a term

24 terms shown

Start with these three

New to AI words? Read these in order. Each one builds on the one before.

  1. Algorithma list of clear steps that solves a problem. It is the starting point for everything else here.
  2. Machine learninginstead of a person writing the steps, the computer finds its own rule from examples.
  3. Neural networkthe kind of model behind much of modern AI, built from small units that weigh their inputs.

How machines learn

Data and testing

Language and generation

Safety and trust

How to use this glossary

  • Start with the one-line definition. It is written so a 9-year-old can follow it, and the term's page opens with the same idea.
  • Read the page together. Every term page has an everyday example, then "A little deeper" for ages 11 to 13 and "Going further" for ages 14 to 18.
  • Do the "Try it". Each page ends with an activity of five minutes or less that needs paper, objects or people, not a screen.
  • Follow the links. Related terms on each page lead to the next idea, so you can move from one word to the next in a sensible order.
  • Check yourself. The Quick check on each page has two or three questions with answers.

Keep reading

Questions

It explains 24 words about how AI works, grouped into four ideas: how machines learn, data and testing, language and generation, and safety and trust. Each word has a one-line definition here and its own page with an example, deeper sections and an activity.

Start with algorithm, then machine learning, then neural network. An algorithm is a list of steps, machine learning is a computer finding its own rule from examples, and a neural network is the kind of model behind much of modern AI.

AI is the broad field of making computers do tasks that seem to need intelligence. Machine learning is one way to do that, in which the computer learns a rule from examples, and deep learning is machine learning with neural networks of many layers.

Both. Every term page opens with a definition a 9-year-old can follow, then adds a section for ages 11 to 13 and another for ages 14 to 18 that go further into the same idea.

No. Each term page has a "Try it" activity of five minutes or less that uses paper, everyday objects or other people. ---

Mechna Academy is a city of machines for curious children aged 8 to 18, opening first to ages 8 to 10. In each mission, a child guesses how a machine decides, then opens its Peek Hatch to check, changes one thing and tests it on a case it has never seen. Children learn how AI works this way, and they never chat with an AI.

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For grown-ups: join the waitlist

Places are limited. The waitlist is for parents and guardians 18 and older.