Changemaker challenge

For Challenge Six, I completed the Purchase Challenge on December eighth by buying a new item on Amazon called AI Ethics: A Textbook, which directly relates to my issue of artificial intelligence and responsible technology use. I included a screenshot of my Amazon order confirmation as proof of the purchase. Although the book does not have traditional ethical labels like organic or fair-trade, it still qualifies as a responsible product because its entire purpose is to educate readers about the ethical questions, risks, and responsibilities connected to modern AI systems. Instead of being certified through a physical label, its responsibility comes from its content and the academic standard behind it, since textbooks in this field go through peer review and follow established definitions of fairness, transparency, accountability, and the societal impact of AI. Buying this textbook felt like a meaningful action because it supports learning and thoughtful engagement with a topic that is becoming more important every day. Completing the purchase was simple: I chose the book, made sure it aligned with my topic, placed the order, and saved my confirmation as documentation. My biggest takeaway from this challenge was realizing that responsible consumption can also mean choosing to invest in educational materials that help you better understand a complex issue. I learned that being responsible with technology is not only about how we use devices but also about how we inform ourselves. The most successful part of this challenge was selecting something that will genuinely help broaden my understanding, and the least successful part was that textbooks do not come with official ethical labels, which required me to think more carefully about how responsibility is defined. If I were to do this differently, I might compare more AI ethics resources before purchasing or look for a product that donates a portion of proceeds to digital literacy or AI safety programs. Moving forward, this challenge will help me approach AI with a more informed and ethical mindset, and it encouraged me to take learning about technology more seriously. After completing the challenge, I am still curious about how quickly ethical guidelines can adapt as AI continues to evolve, how educators decide which ethical frameworks to teach, and whether policymakers actually use academic resources like this when creating regulations. Overall, this experience helped me see that choosing to educate myself is one of the most responsible purchases I can make when dealing with a rapidly changing technology like AI.

On December second, I completed Challenge Five by choosing Option D, the Advocacy Challenge. Since my focus is artificial intelligence and its impact on communities, I decided to contact a public official to share my concerns and advocate for stronger AI education and safety guidelines. I completed this challenge from home in Maryland by writing and sending an email to Baltimore City Council President Zeke Cohen. As confirmation of the experience, I included a screenshot of the sent email, which clearly shows the date, time, recipient, and full content of my message. In the email, I explained who I was, why I was concerned about the rapid growth of artificial intelligence, and what kinds of changes might better support students and community members. I advocated for AI literacy programs, more transparency around the use of AI in public agencies, and community guidance that helps people recognize risks like misinformation or deepfake content. Sending the email served as my advocacy action and demonstrated my engagement with the real policy conversation surrounding AI.

For my Changemaker Challenge, I participated in a research survey titled Exploring Student Engagement and Utilization of GenAI Summarization Tools. The survey took place in October 2025 through the College of Information Studies at the University of Maryland, College Park. It was part of a larger research effort focused on understanding how students use generative AI tools like ChatGPT, Grammarly, GitHub Copilot, and Gemini to support their coursework. The survey was anonymous, took about ten minutes to complete, and served as an opportunity to reflect on my own learning habits and engagement with technology. I completed it online and saved a screenshot of my completion page as proof of participation.

For our volunteer challenge, our group decided to participate in an event focused on ethical AI. We hosted a Kahoot quiz about artificial intelligence and followed it with an open discussion about how people use AI, the concerns they have, and what they think the future of AI will look like. The event took place on Thursday, and it was in partnership with Cloud computing club.

For this challenge I interviewed people. This is how it went.