This week, each edition of the newsletter, children, and user-friendly senior correspondents Anna North and Adam Clark Estes talk about something that occupy both them as journalists and parents of young children.?
Anna North: Hello Adam! I'm excited to chat about AI and the kids! In addition to reporting for work about kids, I also have a 7 year old (I'm at home today and watching Amphibians It may be interrupted at this time) and 2 years old (now not at home, Yay!).
Adam Clar Quest: Hey Anna! My child is not just 2 years old, but as they say, the days are long, but the years are short. I think I'll see her AI friend soon.
Anna:Ha! So, should we start this by talking a bit about our hopes and fears for children who grew up in the age of AI?
I feel like there's a lot to hope for: I'm excited to grow up in an age where kids can use AI to develop new drugs and decipher the elephant language (but are some of these AI tools more appropriately called machine learning?).
My biggest fear is that my kids don't see the points that they learn certain skills like writing and mathematics. Because AI can perform those tasks for them. I'm certainly worried about AI doing the job, but that's the road for my kids.
Adam: I'm not actually worried that my child has AI friends. She probably will! I hope she spends too much time with them, or not much time with AI-powered technology in general.
We hope to join us in this new age of AI and learn how these tools make our lives better, richer and more interesting. It reminds me that the internet was in about the same age as I did, but my parents seemed too afraid to understand it at the time. I hope I can be brave.
Anna: My dad was actually an early adopter of the internet, so we entered that era together. We were going Doctor Who Chat Room – I remember listing “our” ages as “43 and 12.” That was good for me as 1) I learned to use computers and 2) I learned to be interested in new technologies and not afraid. Except I'm a bit afraid of AI! Maybe I have to guide that spirit of curiosity a little more when I'm with my kids.
My friend said her district is potentially deploying AI tools in kindergarten, so it starts to be younger.
Adam: And I keep watching ads for stuffed animals equipped with AI. AI is still a very buzzword, but as we know, I think we are beginning to see how it actually takes over technology. I always say that what's already in everything is the next iteration of the software. So of course it is not only a purpose for fraud, but also a classroom.
Anna: Fraud using AI is not yet an issue for young children. Because they haven't worked on computers yet. The AI tool proposed to the K-6 is like a leading coach with this AI, and does not seem to be more vulnerable to fraud than ChatGpt, for example. I've heard people say that AI could potentially provide more personalized tutoring for a day, which can be positive because individual instruction is really beneficial, but public school classes are too big to provide much. Of course, the idea doesn't surprise me too much, but of course I have doubts about how reliable and accurate the AI tools are.
My older child is in first grade and in his school there is a lot of talk about the role of AI in mathematics. The arguments I've heard are very similar to what we were taught about calculators. To be honest, these tools can do many simple operations for us, so kids should be able to think intuitively about numbers.
I don't think I'll go back to the oral exam, but I need to rethink what it looks like in a world run with AI.
Adam: It is also easy to know how AI will change the way schools work. For example, if AI makes cheating easier when writing essays, what would the teacher assign instead? And what do they grade? I don't think I'll go back to the oral exam, but I need to rethink what it looks like in a world run with AI.
Anna: I think there will be more in-class testing and assignments. I also think there is a shift in developing different sets of skills when writing is less important. We are already seeing children and young people consuming less texts. I won't be shocked if there will be more emphasis on oral presentations and audio and visual production skills over the next few years. It embraces me as a writer, but perhaps that's what Plato wanted? I have always been skeptical of new technology (even in the written language) and I remember some of the anxiety we are experiencing now was thousands of years ago.
It won't be shocked if there's more emphasis on oral presentations, audio and visual production skills in the coming years.
Adam: And some people seem like an immediate replay of anxiety from just 10 or 2 years ago. Every time new technology or medium comes, there is a collective freakout destroying young people. This applies to social media as much as television, video games, comics, and even radio. I think this applies to AI even in social environments. It is already possible to have AI friends via apps such as Replika or Kindroid.
I wasn't kidding either about AI stuffed animals either. For those over 3 years old, there is something called Grok, designed by Grimes of All People. Kids can ask it, and AI tells things like the teddy luxpin of the future. I don't know what AI will tell children!
I saw people calling this the end of an imaginary friend. In fact, I think it's just the beginning of something new. I can't imagine what that is. At least not yet.
Anna: It's funny to me as Teddy Ruxpin was creepy! The social/play aspect of AI is very interesting. I'm not worried that AI will kill imaginary friends – kids will make friends with cans of tomato paste.
My biggest concern about my AI friend now is safety. There are already lawsuits claiming that chatbots have tweaked children towards violence and self-harm. Do you know where the guardrail is?
Adam: My general feeling about Guardrails is that no matter how many people there are, technology finds a way to jump over them. YouTube, for example, has long struggled with how parents can help guide their children to safe, age-appropriate content, but children inevitably suck in rabbit holes in creepy, algorithmically generated videos. I think parents should be careful to triple check what their kids are watching and playing, as it's useless to put an endless supply of AI-generated content into the mix.
Earlier this year there was a Pew study, with a quarter of teens saying they tried ChatGpt for their studies. That number doubled in a year.
So, assuming Guardrails aren't there or don't work, and if the kids are finally trying to try some sort of AI tool, where does it leave their parents? To be honest, I think we should do everything your dad has done with you. Please talk to the chatbot together. Play with your AI toys. Learn about this new technology with your kids and help them learn when to clean up them.
I think we should all do what Dad did with you. Please talk to the chatbot together. Play with your AI toys.
Anna: I'm sure my dad will appreciate this support in his parenting! But you are not alone. Oxford professor Andrew Pruzibilski has spoken about cell phones and children's studies, but he talks about introducing them to smartphones in a way that teaches children to ride bikes. It's a tool. It's dangerous, but I'll use it. It can be fun, and it's a fundamental part of life. Maybe the same applies to AI?
This conversation is like I think I need to use more AI with my kids.
Adam: It is important to point out what we are talking mainly about generating AI and chatbots here. There are also image generators and video generators. All of these have obvious applications to children in school for fraud and learning. But we don't even have the next generation of AI impact on children's lives. It's like AI agents that can use the computer itself, or artificial general information that can theoretically do anything. That future is much more difficult for me to understand now.
Anna: Yes, I think there will be a lot in the next 10 or 15 years. With AI and our children's lives alone, it's hard to wrap around the head. My husband and I always joke about our kids going to college on the moon, but I think that's just a way to express the uncertainty that's always there when you try to stick out too much.
