Google Research and the Stanford Accelerator for Learning have released Polar Peaks, an interactive lesson that puts students in the role of researchers mapping neurons in a brain. It is the third entry in Google’s AI Quests series and is designed for students ages 11 to 14.
Inside the game, students investigate a character’s memory loss by cleaning data, testing a model and scanning neural connections. The exercises are intended to show that AI-assisted science still depends on careful human oversight rather than presenting the model as an automatic answer machine.
The lesson draws on connectomics, the field that maps networks of neurons. After finishing the quest, students hear from researchers involved in real brain-mapping work, including the project that produced a complete map of a fruit fly brain. Earlier AI Quests cover flood forecasting and detection of diabetic eye disease.
Google says more than 400,000 quests have been completed across versions localized into 10 languages. New teacher-training modules are being added through the Google AI Educator Series; modules for the first two quests are available now, while training for Polar Peaks is due next month. The release is an educational simulation, not a tool for diagnosing memory problems or conducting neuroscience research.