Abstract

Statistics Education needs to engage students in classroom activities that address relevant knowledge and skills connected to their experiences in contemporary society. In this context, Artificial Intelligence (AI) emerges as a resource capable of integrating digital technologies into the development of statistical competencies. This study aims to present a possible approach to using AI to analyze social issues through Statistics in a class of 11 undergraduate students enrolled in a Mathematics teacher education program. In this context, the activity entitled “Like, Share, and Subscribe to the Channel: How much does a YouTuber earn?” was developed. The students were asked to estimate the average earnings of digital influencers by constructing a simple linear regression model based on data from specialized websites and the use of AI tools. The students used Perplexity to investigate the earnings of a YouTuber they followed, organizing the data on video views and shares in an attempt to identify variables related to audience engagement with the channel. This table was then submitted to Julius AI through a prompt requesting the construction of a simple linear regression line, the presentation of the corresponding coefficients, and an analysis of the F-statistic and coefficient of determination (R²). Based on the results, discussions with the student were guided by the following questions: Is it possible to predict a YouTuber’s daily earnings based on the number of views? How can these values be estimated mathematically? After all, is it worth becoming a YouTuber? From a pedagogical perspective, the activity demonstrated the potential of AI to support data organization and analysis in Statistics Education, highlighting the importance of teacher mediation. The results generated by prompts must be critically examined and reinterpreted within the teacher education context, fostering the development of statistical literacy, statistical thinking, and statistical reasoning.