AI Concepts Hierarchy

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About This MicroSim

This MicroSim displays 20 foundational AI concepts as nested concentric rounded rectangles, arranged like Russian nesting dolls. The outermost rectangle represents Artificial Intelligence as the broadest concept, with more specific concepts nested inside their parent categories.

The two main branches are Machine Learning (left side, blue tones) and Natural Language Processing (right side, orange tones). Each concept is placed within the concept it depends on, making the hierarchical relationships visually clear.

How to Use

Hover over any concept rectangle to see its one-sentence definition in a tooltip
Click a concept to highlight it and all concepts that depend on it (direct and transitive dependents)
Click again on the same concept or click empty space to deselect
Use the Reset button to clear the selection

Concept Hierarchy

Artificial Intelligence (outermost)
- Machine Learning: Neural Network Basics, Training Data, Transfer Learning
  - Neural Network Basics contains Transformer Architecture
- Natural Language Processing: Large Language Model, API
  - Large Language Model contains Foundation Model (Pre-Training, Fine-Tuning), Token, Tokenization, Context Window, Model Parameters, Inference, Generative AI
  - API contains Chatbot Interface, which contains Human-AI Interaction

Iframe Embed Code

You can add this MicroSim to any web page by adding this to your HTML:

<iframe src="https://dmccreary.github.io/prompt-class/sims/ai-concepts-hierarchy/main.html"
        height="562"
        width="100%"
        scrolling="no"></iframe>

Lesson Plan

Grade Level

High School through Undergraduate

Duration

10-15 minutes

Prerequisites

No prior AI knowledge required. This is an introductory visualization.

Activities

Exploration (5 min): Hover over each concept and read its definition. Start from the outermost (AI) and work inward.
Guided Practice (5 min): Click on "Machine Learning" and observe which concepts depend on it. Then click "Large Language Model" and compare. Discuss why LLMs have more dependents.
Assessment (5 min): Without hovering, try to explain the relationship between any three connected concepts. Then check your understanding using the tooltips.

Assessment

Can the student explain why NLP is nested inside AI but not inside ML?
Can the student identify which concepts are children of Large Language Model?
Can the student describe the difference between Pre-Training and Fine-Tuning using the hierarchy as context?