High school students building babyGPTs: Engaging in data practices and addressing ethical issues through the construction of generative language models

As generative language models have gained popularity, high school students are increasingly using them in their everyday lives. While most current research has focused on examining youth as productive users of generative language model-powered systems, far fewer efforts have focused on how to engage high school students as designers of these models to foster a better understanding of how these systems work. Building on the rich legacy of research that positions youth as designers of computing systems, we explore how to support high school students in designing very small-scale generative language models, which we call babyGPTs. Through an in-depth case study of three teenagers building a babyGPT screenplay generator, we illustrate how the team defined a design problem, developed a model, and reflected while engaging in AI/ML data practices and addressing ethical issues. This paper contributes a case study showing how students engage in data practices and ethical considerations in the construction of generative language models and outlines directions for future research on construction activities and tools to support youth in designing generative language models.