Scouting America Introduces Merit Badges in AI and Cybersecurity
(CNN) — Transforming its legacy, Scouting America, the organization formerly known as the Boy Scouts, is offering scouts the opportunity to earn two innovative merit badges—one focused on artificial intelligence and the other on cybersecurity.
With approximately one million scouts in its ranks, the organization features a plethora of merit badges that encompass a wide array of subjects, from fishing techniques to fingerprint analysis. Historically, these badges have enabled scouts to cultivate skills and investigate new domains.
Scouting America is introducing these new badges as part of a comprehensive initiative to remain relevant amidst an increasingly digital landscape.
“Our objective with the merit badge program is to curate badges around subjects that resonate with today’s youth,” stated Roger Krone, the CEO of Scouting America, in an interview with CNN.
This initiative is not Scouting America’s inaugural exploration into artificial intelligence; the organization launched an AI chatbot named Scoutly earlier in the summer to address inquiries regarding its functions and merit badges.
Krone emphasized that the integration of AI is simply “part of this technological evolution we’re all navigating. To remain pertinent, like any progressive organization, we are embracing artificial intelligence and, indeed, all facets of technology to enhance our operational effectiveness,” he noted.
The organization articulated that the AI merit badge will prompt scouts to scrutinize the influence of AI on quotidian life, understand the ramifications of deepfakes, and engage in a project that either incorporates AI or elucidates the technology in an accessible format for their peers.
Michael Dunn, an Air Force officer collaborating with Scouting America on the cybersecurity badge, remarked that the certification equips youths with the necessary tools to “stay secure and safeguard themselves and their families against myriad threats that exist today.”
Dunn further noted that this initiative introduces scouts to a burgeoning industry, highlighting the pressing shortage of qualified professionals in the cybersecurity field, where thousands of positions remain unfilled.
For approximately a week, scouts have had the opportunity to attain these new badges, and some—like brothers Charles, 13, and Wydell Hendricks, 15—have already succeeded.
Charles described the process of earning the cybersecurity badge as “more enjoyable than laborious,” reflecting on how the experience has sparked his interest in potential career pathways. Wydell, aspiring to embrace a cybersecurity role within the Air Force, expressed another insightful takeaway.
“This badge also instills ethical considerations, which is an indispensable quality for scouts,” Wydell remarked.
Source link: Ksltv.com.
