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Readers of this newsletter will have no doubt how the generative-AI wave will affect their lives. Will Bots Take Your Job? Is using ChatGPT to write email ethically, you know, all right? Should Do you listen to Google's search bot and eat rocks? (no.)
But while adults ponder such questions, many children are already experiencing the full blast of creative AI. It's in popular apps like Snapchat and Instagram. It's coming to iPhones and Chromebooks. In a recent story for Atlantic Oceanmy colleague Caroline Mimbs Nyce wrote about how tech companies are breeding “AI guinea pigs.”
“More than a decade later, adults are still trying to figure out what smartphones and social media have done and are doing to young people,” Caroline wrote. “If anything, concerns about their impact on childhood and mental health have only increased. The introduction of AI means today's parents are dealing with multiple waves of technological backlash simultaneously.
Of course, the concerns are understandable. But AI may have benefits for young people: The Los Angeles Unified School District — the second-largest public school district in the United States — is embracing the technology in the classroom. As its superintendent, Alberto M. Carvalho, told Caroline, “AI is here to stay. If you don't master it, it will master you.”
A breed of AI guinea pigs
By Caroline Mambus Nice
This spring, the Los Angeles Unified School District — the second-largest public school district in the United States — introduced students and parents to a new “learning buddy” called Ed. A learning platform that includes a chatbot represented by a small illustration of a smiling sun, Ed is being tested in 100 schools within the district and is always available through the website. Available. It can answer questions about a child's courses, grades and attendance, and point users to optional activities.
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P.S
Speaking of kids and technology, the surgeon general recommended earlier this week that social media sites receive a warning label — similar to what's seen on tobacco products — over concerns they could have a negative impact on young people. There may be effects. Caroline wrote about the idea, which is more complicated than it appears: “A warning label on a pack of cigarettes is catchy and succinct: No one wants cancer or heart disease. Social media doesn't boil down so easily. “
– Damon