AI News Analysis

This is a print-ready A4 worksheet for critical news analysis.

🎯 Learning Objective:

Watch real news about AI ethics, demonstrate comprehension at surface, inference, and critical levels, and connect the story to Te Ao Māori values.

📺 Select Your News Source

Choose ONE of the following video news stories to analyze:

Option 1: Te Hiku Media's Papa Reo AI (Recommended)

Source: RNZ News / Te Ao Māori News

Search Terms: "Te Hiku Media Papa Reo" or "Māori language AI"

Topic: Indigenous community builds its own speech recognition AI to protect language and data sovereignty

Why this story? Shows positive Indigenous-led AI, data sovereignty in action, and community-controlled technology development.

Option 2: Facial Recognition Fails on Dark Skin

Source: BBC News / CNN Tech / ABC News

Search Terms: "facial recognition bias dark skin" or "AI bias Black people"

Topic: Studies show facial recognition systems have much higher error rates for people with darker skin tones

Why this story? Demonstrates real-world harm from AI bias, raises questions about who builds technology and whose data trains it.

Option 3: Students Using ChatGPT in Schools

Source: The Guardian / NZ Herald / Stuff.co.nz

Search Terms: "ChatGPT schools cheating" or "AI students education"

Topic: Debate over whether AI writing tools help or hurt learning, how schools are responding

Why this story? Directly relevant to students' lives, raises complex questions about learning, authenticity, and future skills.

📝 Record your choice: I watched Option ____ about _________________________________

Part 1: Surface Features (What happened?)

Answer these questions using DIRECT information from the video.

1. Who is the main person, group, or organization in this story?

2. What AI technology or system is being discussed?

3. What problem or issue does the news story focus on?

4. List THREE specific facts or statistics mentioned in the video:

a)
b)
c)

Part 2: Deeper Meanings (Why does it matter?)

Answer these questions by INFERRING (reading between the lines).

5. Who benefits from this AI technology or decision? Who might be harmed?

6. What perspective or voice is MISSING from this news story? Whose story isn't being told?

7. What might have caused this problem or situation? (Think about WHO built the technology, WHAT data was used, and WHY decisions were made)

Part 3: Critical Evaluation (What do YOU think?)

Apply critical thinking and connect to broader ethical questions.

8. Is this news story presenting a BALANCED view? What bias might the news organization have?

9. Connect to Te Ao Māori: Choose TWO values from below and explain how they relate to this AI ethics story.

Values: Manaakitanga (care for others), Kaitiakitanga (guardianship), Whanaungatanga (relationships), Rangatiratanga (self-determination), Tika (truth/justice)

Value 1: _______________________

Value 2: _______________________

10. If YOU could change ONE thing about how this AI system was developed or used, what would it be? Why?

Extension: Media Literacy Check

🔍 For advanced analysis:

  • Find TWO other news sources covering the same story. How does their angle differ?
  • Who funded or produced this video? Could that affect what they show or say?
  • What AI-related topics is this news organization NOT covering? Why might that be?
  • Compare the comments section (if available). What do everyday people think about this issue?

✅ Success Criteria

Level What It Looks Like
Surface Accurately identifies who, what, where, when from the video
Inference Identifies stakeholders, missing voices, and underlying causes
Critical Evaluates bias, connects to values, proposes thoughtful solutions
Cultural Meaningfully applies Te Ao Māori values to the AI ethics issue

📚 NZ Curriculum Alignment

Digital Technologies

Progress Outcome 4: Understand that digital systems impact on people and society, and can be used to manipulate behavior

English (Reading)

Level 4-5: Uses comprehension strategies (surface features, inference, critical analysis) to interpret visual/digital texts

Key Competencies

  • Thinking: Critical evaluation of media sources and AI ethics
  • Using Language, Symbols, Texts: Interpreting multimodal news content
  • Relating to Others: Considering diverse perspectives and stakeholders