Raising Generation AI: Kids growing up in a world dominated by intelligent machines
The world our children will inherit will be unrecognizably transformed by artificial intelligence. These young minds, which we might dub Generation AI, will come of age in a society of intelligent machines. AI will fundamentally shape their worldview and opportunities in ways we can only begin to imagine. I always thought people born around 1900 saw the biggest technological advancements, going from horse and buggy to car, planes, and then space travel; however, that is nothing compared to what Generation AI will experience.
From their earliest years, Generation AI will interact with AI. They will grow up with smart speakers reading them bedtime stories and chatbots serving as their first "friends." Algorithms will suggest hobbies explicitly catered to their personalities. They will ride in autonomous vehicles, be taught by AI tutors, and get medical advice from AI doctors. Algorithms will guide their careers. AI will be seamlessly integrated into their lives.
It is not unreasonable to think that machines will become self-aware and develop subjective experiences. People will most likely undergo neural implants connecting their brains directly to computers to augment their intelligence and have instant access to information, and a new human-machine symbiosis will emerge as the new norm. AI may even disrupt entertainment with unique personalized AI-generated content - Music, movies, and entertainment created as an exclusive customized experience.
Generation AI will likely view intelligent machines as partners rather than tools. The idea of technology being "supplemental" may seem odd to them since AI will understand and respond to their emotions and behaviors. Inequality between humans and AIs may be nonsensical to these AI natives.
But while AI will provide Generation AI with opportunities for self-actualization, risks abound. Personalized algorithms could create closed-off filter bubbles (worse than today's social media confirmation biases), limiting their exposure to new ideas. Theoretically, AI "friends" could craft a child's social development and worldview, eroding their agency and capacity for independent thinking.
Still, Generation AI will have one advantage. From early childhood, they will build AI literacy and mastery. Digital pilgrims like Builders, Boomers, and Xers often struggle with new technologies and digital disruption. But Generation AI, natives of this new world, will not know life before AI and will understand these systems intuitively.
The future of Generation AI, for good or ill, depends on how thoughtfully society integrates AI into life. With care, AI could empower these children to be more creative, enlightened, and humane than any prior generation. But we must be informed guides, helping them retain what is fundamentally human. Promise or peril, the new world of AI is ours to shape.
Mark McNees is a professor at FSU's Jim Moran College of Entrepreneurship and an FSU AI Integration committee member, a futurist, a keynote speaker, and an evangelist for using business as a force for good. Please feel free to connect with Mark on LinkedIn and/or follow his consulting firm, McNees Group LLC.
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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: AI Frontier: How children will navigate a future with AI at its core
