Leading an AI Club: Bringing Machine Learning to the Classroom

This year, I stepped into a new role as Co-President of my school’s AI Club

What Our Meetings Actually Look Like

My job is part researcher, part presenter, and part “how do I make this not boring?” filter. Every meeting, I pull together a mix of:

• A short breakdown of a current AI story worth caring about

• One concept that explains how the tech works

• Something interactive so people don’t mentally check out

We’ve covered AI in music, sports analytics, image generators, and even the awkward question of whether AI should write your English essay (consensus: probably not worth the risk).

The Machine Learning Demo That Hooked Everyone

The session that landed best so far was our intro to machine learning. Instead of starting with algorithms or formulas, we jumped straight into Teachable Machine. In under ten minutes, everyone trained a model using their webcam — waving, holding up random objects, testing whether the computer could tell the difference between a peace sign and a thumbs-up.

It wasn’t polished or perfect — which was exactly the point. People saw, in real time, how the model got confused without enough training data, or how biased it became when someone only trained with one lighting angle. Those small “fails” explained more than a slideshow ever could.

Why This Has Been Worth It

Running the club hasn’t been about being “the AI expert.” Half the time, I’m learning alongside everyone else. The fun part has been figuring out how to break down ideas so that people leave thinking, “Oh, I get this now .”

What I’m enjoying most is watching the club shift from passive interest to real curiosity. People are starting to bring their own questions, news articles, and project ideas.