A Cautionary Alert

Ahh, AI, isn’t it great? Or not? We could spend days, if not weeks, debating the pros and cons of AI. At CES this past January, you couldn’t swing your attendee badge without hitting a company touting AI in its product or service. Currently, most of LinkedIn’s job postings require a knowledge of AI. Sounds familiar to past techs’ sizzle machine. I’m not saying AI isn’t real or that it isn't and won't continue to impact our world. The problem is that FOMO seems to take over when big trends are at their height.

            Trends and tech rise and fall each year. Some are big bets, like the Metaverse. Remember that? How about NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens)? So hot, now so cold. Web3? The list goes on.

The problem is that many of these ideas filter down to children in one way or another. Toy companies are touting the use of AI in new products, and gaming companies are trying to incorporate it into game development. It’s only natural that kids embrace the latest in the tech world. Throughout my product design and development career, I have pushed for the use of technology in many new products and platforms for children. I have pushed to use that technology as an adjunct facilitator of play, not to take play away from a child’s emerging and developing mind.

Most of these tech innovations are only tools. Using a tool is easy to adopt. But the pace of tech change often leaves what you learn one day outdated the next. I was recently shared a video about this problem, and what we think is making children smarter and better prepared for the world actually leaves them spinning in place, if not going backward. Here is the video. It’s worth a view. (It’s a Facebook reel) https://www.facebook.com/reel/881311697672922

So, what do we do? Embrace technology! But not at the risk of ignoring the fundamental ways of learning to be human. It’s about thinking something through and forming opinions based on your own trial and error. That’s what being a child is about. That’s what learning is about. Learning that there is always a new way to think about something. So, let them learn by exploring, not by asking for help via an app. There's plenty of time for that later, once they learn that human existence was born through thought and discovery.

So, let them scroll, but do so in moderation. Challenge them with tasks. Ask them questions. For goodness’ sake, read to them, encourage them to read, and talk about it. It’s called parenting! Get them to think. Look for products that actually let them use their imaginations to tell stories and challenge themselves.

It's so easy for all of us to become cognitively lazy. If we let our children fall behind because some trend was hot yesterday but is nowhere to be found now, is sad. I certainly worry about Gen Z parents and how they will think about getting their children to become self-sustaining humans. As great as technology can be, we must learn to embrace the ideas while being wary of the consequences. 

There has been some pushback on the hot new tech. The Wall Street Journal reported that many companies are learning to be far more cautious about promoting AI in products, and the gaming companies are seeing real pushback from gamers when pushing too much tech into already good gameplay.

Without sounding like a Luddite, I embrace new tech and trends. I just want to make sure we all keep our eyes open and focus on not chipping away at what makes us human.

BTW, remember Silly Bands? Gone!