Alice and Sparkle

Product Information

Alice and Sparkle is a children's picture book about a young girl named Alice who creates an artificially intelligent robot named Sparkle. The two go on an adventure where they learn about both the potential benefits and dangers of artificial intelligence.

What Works for Children’s Social Care, part of the network of government-funded What Works centres, is examining the effectiveness of predictive analysis in the sector. Preliminary results from one of six councils being studied have shown that its predictions are “pretty accurate”, according to the centre’s executive director, Michael Sanders. But he is yet to be convinced that they really offer value for money. “People are spending money buying in these services even when they are short of cash,” he says. “They have been promised a silver bullet, but there are no silver bullets.” Stratulis is also concerned at the role of profit-making companies in the new techniques. “Rather than focusing on learning from machines and algorithms, let’s focus on good, relationship-based social work practice,” she says. Leaning on the Fourth Wall: The creation of the book was meant to put a spotlight on the kind of storytelling that can be done with AI, and the plot of the book is about the good and bad that can be done with AI.

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Hillingdon council, in west London, has pioneered award-winning work in the use of predictive analytics to prevent the exploitation of vulnerable children and young people. Its Axis project, launched in 2017 with support from the Office of Data Analytics and the police, analyses information from the police, social care, health, youth offending, schools, youth services, community groups and the public to identify high-risk geographical areas. This has then enabled the council to redirect intensive youth work support services to these areas and divert young people from crime or violence.

With AI and machine learning tools used in its writing and illustration, Alice and Sparkle is said to be the first book of its kind to do so. Not only that, but the entire story’s plot also centres around the young protagonist creating her own AI companion. Alice and Sparkle is a 2022 children's book published by Ammaar Reshi. Reshi created the book using artificial intelligence in one weekend, which sparked controversy among artists. Art Shift: The artstyle ranges from the chibi-inspired style on the cover to a more realistic look .Maris Stratulis, national director of the British Association of Social Workers England, first voiced concerns last year. She remains worried. “Machine learning in social care still raises significant issues about how we want to engage with children and families,” she says. “Reports on its use in other countries have shown mixed results including potential unethical profiling of groups of people.” The debate has heated up even further with the announcement of Alice and Sparkle, created by design manager Ammaar Reshi. He completed the entire children’s book within a weekend using ChatGPT, MidJourney, and other AI tools. His detractors called the book “cheap” with little to no artistic values or integrity, especially with how the machine learning process means that Alice and Sparkle’s entire art style and the story is generated from a compilation of other works.

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), which regulates the act, says it recognises that machine learning can present “some of the biggest risks related to the use of personal data”. The Data Protection Act provides some legal safeguards on using personal data – one of which is that organisations must let people know how their details and profile are being used. I spent the weekend playing with ChatGPT, MidJourney, and other AI tools… and by combining all of them, published a children’s book co-written and illustrated by AI! The book was "written" in 2022 by Ammaar Reshi, a product design manager from the San Francisco Bay area. "Written" is in quotes because Reshi created the book using various AI programs instead of more traditional writing and illustration methods. The text of the story was primarily generated using ChatGPT , while the imagery was primarily generated using Midjourney . The book was completed and published over the course of a single weekend. The ICO has set up Project ExplAIn with the Alan Turing Institute, which specialises in data science, to open public discussions on how such data should be shared and used across both public and commercial sectors. It plans to issue further guidance on the use of machine learning in the coming weeks.The results were presented to the local community and a community-led commissioning group was set up, aiming to give parents, volunteers and teachers a chance to improve outcomes for children in the area. The council also hopes it will help prevent an increased demand on services later on. People are spending money buying in these services even when they are short of cash … but there are no silver bullets Michael Sanders, What Works centre This is a story about a young girl named Alice who discovers the magic of artificial intelligence. She creates her own AI, named Sparkle, and together they go on adventures and use their combined knowledge to make the world a better place. Machine learning is an application of artificial intelligence (AI). Computer systems enable councils to number-crunch vast amounts of data from a variety of sources, such as police records, housing benefit files, social services, education or – where it is made available – the NHS. In children’s services, a council may ask for analysis of specific risk factors which social workers would otherwise not know, such as a family getting behind on the rent, which can then be triangulated with other data such as school attendance. The key issue from a purely evaluative perspective is whether machine learning will perform better than traditional analysis. Sanders believes it may in some cases, though he stresses the jury remains out, which would then trigger the further question of practitioners’ ability to understand the data without having a doctorate in statistics. The story explores the incredible abilities of AI and the importance of using them for good. It is a tale of friendship and exploration, filled with magic and wonder.”