Raising Children in the Era of Artificial Intelligence - Part Two

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has the potential to fundamentally rework basic aspects of the modern world: healthcare, energy, entertainment, governance, gaming; the list goes on. As this process unfolds, we, the adults, must prepare our children to inhabit a future rife with new risks and opportunities. At PwC, we employ a Responsible Technology approach to emerging technology to comprehensively model this landscape. 

In this second of two blogs (Part One available here), I cover issues related to jobs, health and security with input from Jonnie Penn, an AI researcher based at the University of Cambridge, who conducts research on AI’s impact on society as a fellow for Google.

1. Jobs and Skills 

PwC research suggests that the factor most highly correlated with potential job automation is the education level of the worker that currently performs it. Hence, to ensure that our children have ‘future-proof’ skills, some form of government intervention will almost certainly be needed. In the medium term, this could include a revision of the UK’s elementary-school curriculum, both in terms of content (i.e. data literacy, probability, neural networks) and teaching methods (i.e. a focus on interpersonal skills), as well as deeper investment from government in vocational education, training, and retraining with a focus on emerging tech and AI. There are warnings, however, that this effort could backfire if made in haste. “A desire to ‘optimise’ children has led to ugly outcomes in the past,” warns Penn, “In the early 20th century, parents in California and the UK considered eugenics to be the key to unlocking their community’s prosperity. Time has shown that intuition to be both scientifically and morally misguided.” In this case, Penn states, we should listen to children and young people to ensure that they are a part of the civic process. 

2. Health and Wellbeing

Children in wealthy families today might grow up surrounded by AI-powered voice assistants that sound or act human. How does this interaction influence children’s well-being? A research group at MIT are investigating how children perceive AI technology by studying how they interact with various virtual assistants like Amazon Alexa and Google Home. Early evidence suggests that these interactions may alter children’s perception of their own intelligence in comparison to that of the agent’s “mind”. Further research will be needed to understand how such agents might serve as responsible companions for children, whether embedded in toys, games, or otherwise. “There is still no substitute for time spent playing in nature,” Penn warns. “The benefits of that activity have had more ‘research and development’ than today’s virtual assistants.” He points to the lack of knowledge around potential side-effects from digital technology usage as one reason why Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, and other tech leaders famously banned their own children from using cell phones. 

3. Privacy, security and integrity

Data privacy and data ethics are both hotly debated subjects in contemporary AI research, particularly when children’s privacy is at stake. In 2016, a prominent toy company launched an AI-powered product that gave the manufacturer unprecedented access to children’s lives. One year later, it was pulled from shelves due to consumer outrage. If properly implemented, AI-powered toys and games could become a force for good that empower children to benefit from personalised and adaptive learning. For this to happen, however, we must regulate these technologies “as we do with refrigerators, cars, and other products,” says Penn, “Before products are used and not afterwards.” At PwC, we explore how to design and deploy responsible AI that meets strict ethical and legal standards.

While it is important that we prepare our education system to meet the needs of a changing job market, health and well-being cannot be sacrificed to accomplish these ends. Our experience at PwC has shown that once a topic is brought to public attention, the debate usually generates action plans with tangible outcomes. To begin this process, we should listen to our children more. As my colleague at PwC, Rob McCargow has done, we can ask them, “How do you feel about AI?” The answers might lead to surprising outcomes!

Image credit : Dall E