Image is AI generated
In this era, everything is being converted into digital format and the technology that is playing the most dominant part in digitalizing all our world is AI. Starting from our gadgets for gaming to smartphones in our pockets, chats that we send to our friends and even on television and learning at school, everywhere AI is introduced. For adults this may be quite a delight, but this might not be so for our children. If an adult is at full control and know what to receive from the AI in every condition, our children may be receiving the full stream of things given by AI, and also copy the way of functioning of AI.
This is the point where I'm bothered about.
Children are still in their growth period, and they still have to learn thinking process, interpersonal skills, problem solving skills and also understand what they actually feel. As AI becomes a part of their lives, it affects not only the entertainment, but in a subtle manner it shapes them and influences them.
The most immediate issue with AI is it’s about 'dependency'. AI answers everything on time. Questions in home work, story ideas or an explanation, and even sometimes giving advice to life problems, everything comes out instantly. So, a child may just not strain their brains in any process of thinking and problem solving and wait for the AI to do the job. The creativity and independent thinking skills are hampered due to it.
The next issue is 'impatience'. The response is quick and to the point. What we ask is what it gives. Real life is not always like that, learning a skill requires time. Developing friendships and understanding relations take patience and effort. But since they grow in a surrounding where they have to wait just a few seconds for the response from the device, real life frustrations and delays are very difficult to manage.
It is also about the emotion. Some systems are programmed to be confident, serene and present always. There is no exhaustion. There is not much resistance for your request and it does not have any weaknesses. If children interact too much with such machines they may also want the humans to behave in the same manner - never refuse any request and always be accurate. Humans are just not like that.
Next concern is the social life of the child. During their childhood the best thing they learn is through playing and interpersonal skills, especially by facing the society and through games like hide and seek and others, learning to communicate in person, read body language and empathize. But all this might come down as they spend more and more of their time with AI powered devices. And this can have everlasting impact if their foundation becomes weak.
Misinformation could also be a concern. AI doesn’t have the real understanding about the truths; they generate information based on patterns. Thus, they can be incorrect but still sound highly accurate. And then, the child doesn’t know what to ask back and can readily accept the incorrect pieces of information, thus forming incorrect beliefs over a time of duration.
Privacy issues are silent problems.Most AI products are designed to store and collect the information of the user. Children may not be aware that they are sharing certain personal information which can later be used inappropriately. And since the AI is helpful, children tend to have more confidence and reliance.
This is not to say that AI is bad, but about it’s usefulness for our kids. It is good for learning and creativity development only when supervised. This is the only way it would not cause problem to our the children. As their parents we should not let the children to learn or behave like an AI. It should be known for them that it's only a helping hand and it cannot replace a human being, the ability to think, to feel and to interact. As the growth of technology is moving very fast, our ability to guide our children should be even faster. If not, the consequences may be beyond expectation.