Artificial Intelligence Merit Badge
Eight requirements that look like desk work, three of which are appointments: two counselor-led games and an approval that has to come before the project starts. The badge has no pamphlet, so both games come from the counselor rather than from anything a Scout can look up, and requirements 2 and 3 ask the same five questions about artificial intelligence and about automation, which is a trap for anyone who has not separated the two ideas.
The plan behind this
Three parts of this badge are appointments
Most of the Artificial Intelligence badge is reading, listing and explaining, and it can be done in any order at any time. Three parts cannot:
| requirement | what it needs |
|---|---|
| 2(d) ten rounds of "AI or Not?" | your counselor, in the room, playing it with you |
| 4(b) five rounds of "What Would You Do?" | your counselor again, playing and then discussing |
| 7 the practical application | your counselor's approval before the work starts |
None of the three can be handed in. Two of them are games, and a game needs two people. If you take one thing from this page, take this: ask for those three appointments at your first meeting, because everything else on the badge will wait for you and they will not.
There is no pamphlet
The badge says so itself, above requirement 1:
The Artificial Intelligence (AI) merit badge has no merit badge pamphlet. Instead, it has been designed for you to interact with the Scoutly chatbot on your learning journey as you work through the requirements.
Two things follow from that, and only one of them is obvious.
The obvious one is that there is nothing to buy and nothing to read cover to cover.
The less obvious one is that the two games have no printed source. "AI or Not?" and "What Would You Do?" are named in the requirements and exist nowhere a Scout can look them up. They come from the counselor, who has them from the Counselor Information Page the note points at. That is not a problem, but it is a reason to raise both games at your first meeting rather than turning up expecting to have prepared for them.
And the note ends with a sentence worth reading twice:
This does not replace the requirement to identify and work with a counselor to complete the badge.
Requirements 2 and 3 are a matched pair
They ask the same five things twice:
| requirement 2, AI | requirement 3, automation | |
|---|---|---|
| (a) | 10 examples in everyday life | 10 examples in everyday life |
| (b) | five in the workplace | five in the workplace |
| (c) | five at school | five at school |
| (d) | play "AI or Not?" with your counselor | explain how automation works without human intervention |
| (e) | a timeline of five milestones | a timeline of five milestones |
Thirty examples in total, and they are supposed to be thirty different ones.
The distinction the badge is testing arrives at 3(d): automation performs repetitive tasks without human intervention, reducing error and optimising resources. A thermostat on a timer is automation. A thermostat that learns when you are cold is AI. Sort that out before you write either list and both get easier; sort it out afterwards and you will write one list twice.
Requirement 7 is approved, not chosen
Both routes open with the same four words: With your counselor's approval.
| route | what it is |
|---|---|
| 7(a) a project | Pick something from a personal interest or a community need. Plan it: objectives, data requirements, ethical considerations. Then build it with real AI tools, and discuss how it went. |
| 7(b) a lesson | Design a short lesson on AI and teach it to your patrol or a group of Scouts, including an AI-generated explanation, examples from everyday life and the workplace, and an interactive demonstration. |
7(b) is the one people underestimate, because "teach it to your patrol" needs a patrol that is meeting, an agreed slot in their programme, and an interactive demonstration that works in that room. It is also the one whose content you have already written: the everyday and workplace examples are requirement 2 over again.
What this page is
The Artificial Intelligence merit badge, drawn so the appointments are visible before the desk work. It is not a copy of the requirements, and it defines none of the sixteen terms: each step is a short label with a link to the official requirements, which are what actually governs and which change from year to year.
Sources for this page
- Artificial Intelligence Merit Badge Requirements, Merit Badge Hub, last modified 2025-12-31 · The requirements themselves, and the free official pamphlet linked from them.
- Guide to Advancement, 2025, Section 7.0.0.3 · The process every merit badge is earned through, which this page does not repeat.
- Guide to Advancement, 2025, Section 7.0.4.3 · Which version of a changed requirement applies to a Scout who has already started.
- Guide to Advancement, 2025, Section 4.0.0.1 · Why the requirements are not in the Guide to Advancement and are expected to change annually.
Last checked against its sources on .