On September 16, 2025, Minecraft launched a new Minecraft: Education Edition program aimed at 8-18-year-olds called Reed Smart: AI Detective.
It's an interactive adventure game fashioned after film noir detective stories, where the player must assist detective Reed Smart in solving a case where the perpetrator is misusing AI.
Along the way, Reed Smart will teach real-life lessons to the player on how AI can be used to spread misinformation through convincing deepfake videos, and how to avoid being tricked by AI to uncover the truth.
Reed Smart: AI Detective is broken down into three acts:
- Case 1: The Deepest Fake — Case 1 teaches the players how convincing AI-generated videos can be, and tasks them to discover which video is fake by looking beyond surface-level appearances and using multiple sources to info in context.
- Case 2: An Ode to Deception — Case 2 educates the players on AI detection tools, their pros and cons, and how relying too much on technology without applying your own human judgment, can lead to false accusations.
- Case 3: Dine & Deceive — Case 3 demonstrates how AI can convince uninformed people by conjuring up wrong information, and what the player can do identify false information through the use of verification, even when AI uses authoritative language.
To solve these cases, players will need to interview eyewitnesses to put claims in context, cross-reference their statements with evidence, identify when AI is being misused to create false testimonies, and collect all credible sources together to discover the truth.
As players solve cases, Reed Smart: AI Detective will teach players important information literacy skills to help discern fake information spread by AI, not just in-game, but in real life too.
These skills range from lateral reading, fact-checking multiple sources to verify the credibility of any information, and employing 'critical ignoring' to prevent your attention span from being hijacked by eye-catching online content.
The game will inform the player when they catch AI in the act by slowly filling the black and while, film-noir world with vibrant colors, symbolizing their growth in information literacy.
Help your kids discern fake AI info today with Reed Smart: AI Detective
Personally speaking, it's pretty cool to see Microsoft and Minecraft launch a program like this to help young kids avoid tricks and scams from people misusing AI, packaged in a fun and interactive manner.
In fact, I believe this program could even help older folks discern deepfakes and misinformation, especially if they never grew up with access to computers or the internet, which might have helped them acclimate to modern technology.
It's important to fact-check all sources of information, whether they're human or AI-made, before coming to your own conclusions, because, as the old saying goes, "Do not believe everything you read".
If you wish to help your family avoid being conned by crooks using AI to spread false information, Reed Smart: AI Detective is available to download right now on the Minecraft: Education Library for licensed users of Minecraft: Education (with a demo for free users), and on the Minecraft Marketplace for Minecraft: Bedrock players.
If you wish to delve even further into AI Literacy training, check out Microsoft's Reed Smart support materials, AI Foundations lessons, and a one-hour online training course.
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