40 AI Research Topics for High School Students

If you’re a high schooler looking to explore AI beyond high school, consider a research project in AI! Exploring AI through a research project can be a practical way to learn how the technology works and understand its real-world applications.

Before jumping into a project or a summer program in AI focused on research, it’s worth taking time to explore different areas of A and the research topics you can exploreI—from machine learning and natural language processing to ethics and data privacy. Choosing a topic that’s both interesting and manageable can help you gain useful technical skills and develop your ability to think critically about technology.

Why should I do AI research in high school?

Doing AI research in high school allows you to dive deep into a topic that blends logic, creativity, and real-world impact. Along the way, you'll build skills that will help you far beyond a single project:

• Working on a research project requires planning and managing your schedule effectively, especially when balancing school, extracurriculars, and research.

• You'll learn how to analyze data, assess sources, and form logical conclusions based on evidence.

• Summarizing technical information and presenting your findings clearly is a valuable skill in any academic or professional field.

• A well-executed research project can strengthen your college applications by showing your initiative, intellectual curiosity, and interest in AI.

• You'll gain a much deeper understanding of AI concepts and the tools commonly used to implement and integrate it, which will significantly help should you choose to pursue an AI-related course in college.

40 AI research topics for high school students

1. AI Tools To Support Human Creativity

Amid concerns that AI could replace artists and writers, explore how AI can enhance human creativity instead. For instance, examine how AI tools aid designers by creating website templates or generating draft illustrations that artists can enhance, minimizing time spent on tedious tasks and enabling their creativity to thrive.

2. Use NLP to Track Social Media Trends

You can use natural language processing (NLP) techniques to study how people feel about major topics like climate change or elections by analyzing tweets, Reddit comments, or YouTube posts. Consider what data is reliable and how sentiment is classified. As a bonus challenge, try to summarize and present your insights in neat graphs and charts for some surprising results!

3. Create A Model For Early Disease Detection

Explore how AI models can analyze patient health records to predict early signs of diseases like diabetes or cancer. Consider the ethical implications of predictive diagnostics and false positives.

4. Creating Purpose-Driven Chatbots

Design a chatbot that fulfills a specific need — such as helping students study, managing wellness check-ins, or recommending books. Research how conversational models are trained and what makes responses useful or empathetic.

5. Detecting Deforestation Through Satellite Imaging

Use computer vision models to analyze satellite images and detect illegal logging or forest loss. Utilize publicly available satellite data for this purpose, such as that from NASA or NOAA. Examine how this supports conservation efforts and assess the accuracy of these systems in comparison to human monitoring.

6. Bias and Ethics in Facial Recognition

Study how facial recognition technology works and where it's used—such as airports, law enforcement, or smartphones. Explore how bias in datasets can affect accuracy and lead to unfair outcomes.

7. How AI Powers Self-Driving Cars

Analyze how AI processes data from LiDAR, cameras, and GPS to recognize road signs, avoid pedestrians, and make driving decisions. Consider what challenges are holding back full autonomy.

8. Forecasting Financial Markets with Machine Learning

Develop a basic model that predicts stock price trends or cryptocurrency movement using past data. Track your model’s performance with actual market movements. Evaluate the limitations of using AI in finance.

9. Improving Machine Translation with Deep Learning

Compare rule-based and neural network-based translation systems in handling idioms, slang, or rare languages. Investigate how transformers improve fluency and contextual accuracy.

10. AI in Visual Art and Intellectual Property

Explore how generative AI tools like DALL·E or Midjourney create visual content and what that means for artists and copyright law. Should AI art be considered original, and who owns it?

11. AI in Criminal Justice: Helpful or Harmful?

Research how AI is used in courts for things like setting bail or sentencing recommendations. Analyze the risks of bias, lack of transparency, and the consequences of algorithmic errors.

12. Using AI to Strengthen Cybersecurity

Study how anomaly detection helps AI identify hacking attempts in network traffic. You could simulate a cyberattack scenario and see how a trained model responds.

13. Understand Voice Assistants And Voice Recognition Tech

Examine the technology behind Alexa, Siri, or Google Assistant, focusing on voice recognition and intent prediction. Test how well these systems respond to different accents or noisy environments.

14. Nonverbal Communication Aids with AI

Design an AI tool that translates sign language or facial gestures into text or speech. These tools can help bridge communication gaps for nonverbal users.

15. Supporting Students with Disabilities Using AI

Investigate how AI can assist students with dyslexia, visual impairments, or processing disorders. For example, text-to-speech readers or adaptive math platforms that respond to user performance.

16. The Science Behind Predictive Text

Study how tools like Grammarly or smartphone keyboards predict the next word or correct grammar. Explore how language models learn context and what their limitations are.

17. AI for Athletic Performance Analysis

Use AI tools to evaluate athlete performance or injury risk based on video footage or wearable data. Sports teams use this data to optimize training and scout new talent.

18. AI in Mental Health Support Systems

Evaluate how AI-based mental health tools work by analyzing popular apps like Wysa or Youper. How do they detect emotional tone, and are they effective in offering support?

19. Precision Agriculture Through Machine Learning

Research how AI integrates drone footage, soil sensors, and weather data to optimize crop yield. Consider how accessible these tools are to farmers globally.

20. Modeling Climate Change with AI

Explore how AI simulates climate systems to forecast extreme weather events or long-term environmental shifts. Investigate what data sets are used and how reliable the projections are.

21. Create Original Music with Neural Networks

Experiment with tools like Google Magenta to compose music using AI. Explore how these systems are trained and whether the music is truly "original."

22. Preventing Financial Fraud with AI

Study how banks use real-time pattern recognition to flag unusual credit card transactions. Explore how false positives are handled and how users are notified securely.

23. Explore AI Applications in Virtual Reality

Investigate how AI customizes VR experiences based on user movement or feedback. Applications range from gaming to therapy for PTSD and phobias.

24. Emotion Recognition Using Computer Vision

Research how AI systems interpret facial expressions to detect emotions. Study the challenges of cultural differences, lighting conditions, and facial occlusion.

25. Optimizing Delivery Routes with AI

Study how companies use AI to find the fastest delivery routes based on traffic, weather, and distance. Explore how models adapt in real-time.

26. AI in Language Learning Platforms

Analyze how apps like Duolingo personalize learning paths based on user input and performance. What makes their recommendation systems effective for language retention?

27. Disaster Planning Using Predictive Models

Explore how AI predicts disaster impacts, such as where floods may hit or which areas are at risk during earthquakes. Evaluate how AI can support faster emergency responses.

28. AI use with Data Privacy Laws

Investigate how companies collect, store, and anonymize user data for training AI models. Research recent laws like GDPR and how they affect AI development.

29. Lifelike NPCs in Game Development

Study how AI is used to make video game characters more intelligent and responsive. Try designing a simple game with dynamic NPC behavior.

30. Using AI to Manage Urban Congestion

Analyze how cities deploy AI systems to time traffic lights or suggest alternate routes to drivers. Evaluate the measurable benefits of commute times and emissions.

31. Personalized Shopping Experiences in E-Commerce

Explore how platforms like Amazon or Etsy use AI to recommend products, optimize pricing, or update user dashboards. Consider the ethical implications of personalization.

32. Detecting Misinformation and Fake News

Research how models classify news as fake or legitimate by identifying unusual language, source credibility, and engagement patterns. Build a small prototype to test.

33. AI in Assistive Robotics

Look into how AI enables robots to help with household tasks, navigation, or communication, especially for the elderly or those with limited mobility.

34. Reviving Endangered Languages Using NLP

Research how AI helps linguists digitize and teach rare languages using speech recognition, translation, or text-to-speech synthesis.

35. Creating Personalized Healthcare Plans

Explore how AI suggests treatment plans tailored to a patient’s history, genetics, and lifestyle. Evaluate how well these systems integrate with real doctors’ workflows.

36. Jobs Lost and Created by AI

Analyze which professions are being automated and which new jobs AI is creating, such as data labeling or AI ethics consulting. How should society prepare for these changes?

37. AI in Space Exploration

Study how NASA and SpaceX use AI for rover navigation, anomaly detection, and mission planning. What advantages does AI offer in remote, high-risk environments?

38. Wildlife Conservation Using AI and Drones

Use AI and drone imagery to count animals or detect poaching activities in hard-to-reach regions. Research how this improves conservation accuracy.

39. Legal Research with AI Tools

Investigate how lawyers use AI to analyze documents, predict case outcomes, or draft contracts. What are the limits of current systems in understanding legal nuance?

40. Reconstructing History with Generative AI

Explore how AI is used to digitally reconstruct damaged art, monuments, or manuscripts using existing fragments. What are the risks of inaccuracy or misinterpretation?

If you’re looking to build a project/research paper in the field of AI & ML, consider applying to Veritas AI! 

Veritas AI is founded by Harvard graduate students. Through the programs, you get a chance to work 1:1 with mentors from universities like Harvard, Stanford, MIT, and more to create unique, personalized projects. In the past year, we had over 1000 students learn AI & ML with us. You can apply here!

One other option—the Lumiere Research Scholar Program

If you’re interested in pursuing independent research in AI, consider applying to one of the Lumiere Research Scholar Programs, selective online high school programs for students founded with researchers at Harvard and Oxford. Last year, we had over 4,000 students apply for 500 spots in the program! You can find the application form here.

Also check out the Lumiere Research Inclusion Foundation, a non-profit research program for talented, low-income students. Last year, we had 150 students on full need-based financial aid!

Stephen is one of the founders of Lumiere and a Harvard College graduate. He founded Lumiere as a PhD student at Harvard Business School. Lumiere is a selective research program where students work 1-1 with a research mentor to develop an independent research paper.

Image Source - Lumiere Education Logo