AI and Children: Do We Underestimate the Younger Generation?

Most of us are firmly convinced that artificial intelligence is only what grown-ups talk about. But what if I told you that AI has already been interacting with your kid or any other child almost since their birth? 

Well, this is the reality. Today, I want to bring up a ticklish subject about AI’s relationship with modern kids. So, let’s get started!

Smart Technologies Beget Smart Kids

Children’s relationship with technology is usually established before they even learn to walk. This might be a real-world problem since AI is taking over almost every single gadget that children can easily access. 

However, the main issue is that AI-powered technologies are not specifically designed for children in the first place. So, how can we, adults, help AI become a kid-friendly invention? The way I see it, we must first understand how both children and technology think to find a common solution. 

How Do Children Think?

Frankly, I was eager to explore this issue after listening to a podcast from the MIT Technology Review. Professors of computer science and psychological and brain sciences discussed the connection between children and the information sources that they use. They shared their personal experiences with kids as well, which, I must say, was intriguing.

Children have a genuine blast interacting with technology because it can strike up a conversation and quench a child’s interest in everything, literally. But a child’s imagination knows no limits. Some kids even think there’s a tiny person inside an AI-powered device (e.g., Siri or Alexa) that can watch them. 

Kids ask these devices a broad range of questions – both random and profound. Case in point, a 4-year-old was asking Siri about why things die or how to get out of Egypt, or another child asking Google if it has feelings (BTW, the answer was yes). We can assume that children anthropomorphize AI in many different but fun ways, and they mostly perceive AI as their friend. Can we leave it as it is?

I guess we have no choice since children get quite curious when it comes to artificial intelligence or technology in general. But how do we explain to children where this information comes from and how reliable it is?

Defining AI within Age Categories

The trust children have in technology resonates with the trust they place in their parents or teachers. Besides, kids tend to be gullible, so they might believe everything they hear or see on the internet. Parents should beware of such influence on their little ones.

On the other hand, children between the ages of 4 and 6 are notoriously skeptical of strange and unknown things around them, including AI. A real person, such as a parent, is the most reliable source of information for them. However, this might soon change as voice-activated assistants become more prevalent in our homes and schools.  

At the age of 7-8, there’s an evident shift in a child’s behavior: kids are more likely to trust internet sources and voice assistants. This is only preliminary research, but it’s a definite cloud on the horizon.

School-age children are, by far, the luckiest (or not) users of AI. Have you heard about an intelligent educational system in China? Here, AI is an obligatory part of students’ life, including facial recognition, robotics, location tracking, video object detection, and sensing technology. Moreover, parents believe that AI is a way to boost their kids’ competitive abilities. 

Still, a data-driven education might pose certain biases and lead to AI misuse, which raises a question of ethical AI that we’ll discuss in the second part of this series, so stay tuned!

What’s Holding Us Back? 

Let’s say you have Alexa at your home. This technology is suitable for kids as it can help with homework, entertainment, bedtime, and staying connected with family and friends. Sometimes, Alexa gets pretty hilarious with the kids, too. But as you can see, no parent can ever fully curate what their kids are exposed to in terms of technology and how it will respond. 

Many AI-based companies offer different connected experiences that are designed for children, such as voice games and screenless entertainment options. But designing these systems entails many challenges to overcome.

First, children perceive this world differently. This means that every child is at a different stage of development, even within the same age category. Thus, kids are not a universal audience for AI, which we must consider when developing technologies for children. 

Nonetheless, we shouldn’t underestimate the children’s ability to understand the complexity of today’s digital systems. Young users can easily handle intricate storylines and gaming obstacles. Yet even though modern kids can easily adapt to advanced technology, we can’t expect this to be a cyclical phenomenon. 

AI in the Hands of Kids: What’s Coming Next?

Modern technology is a major catalyst for an intellectual leap among the younger generation, often surpassing that of adults. 

Addressing AI and children’s relationship is important to bring technology closer to kids but also keep it safe and understandable for them. We should think of new ways to design games, toys, and educational systems for children that are age-appropriate, safe, and beneficial. That said, a simple but complex enough system for a modern tech-savvy child. 

This way, AI can help children think critically, comprehend the effect of change, and perhaps even contribute to building new types of AI. So, can we let AI raise future generations? Let me know what you think!