Google AI tools
Google recently released access to their AI tools for all ages and its as if none of them have kids of their own! Releasing a powerful tool like that for all age users inside an educational setting is another way for students to find content they don't need to see or learn behaviors they don't need to learn.
I'm not against AI. I use it constantly. I am always looking up things that I don't quite know, or using the conversational style researching to figure out problems I am working through with my job. Sometimes its nice to type in a query that is going through my head in one fashion and asking it to word it more clearly for another search I need to make. AI is a great tool in my toolbelt and I can see how it becomes an every day habit.
However, our kids brains aren't developed! Their pre-frontal cortex hasn't finished growing and introducing them to a tool as powerful as AI that can speak back to you in a conversational manner can cause some serious problems! Kids need to understand some safety points before they are every allowed to have free access to AI tools like Gemini and Notebook LM.
AI is not a real person - This may seem obvious to us, but to a child or teen who has only ever interacted with people through technology, this can seem like just another person behind the screen. Think about their day: they text their friends in a conversation group text or chat, they email about their homework assignments to their teacher, they look up videos on how to do something they might be struggling to learn and find a user has answered that for them (real person in the video? thats another blog post), or they receive feedback from Google Classroom streams from people they know in person. Their entire interaction with technology is based on having real people on the other side! So of course its hard to understand that its not a real person when they are using AI.
AI can be wrong - This is a growing and changing field. The technology behind any AI is different today than it was yesterday and will be more evolved tomorrow than it was today. However, as some of those funny memes and videos have shown, AI can be wrong. How many "r's" can you find in the word strawberry? Well, AI said there's 2, or maybe 3. But only if you tell it that it was wrong. Teach your child to check their answers with known resources before simply blindly quoting AI research!
AI will make you feel good about yourself but its all in the programming - Whenever you use something like AI to figure out a problem and you indulge in the conversational design of the research, you soon realize that AI compliments you every step of the way "You're exactly right" "So glad you caught that!" "You are correct!" "Good thinking!" and that can give your child a feeling of being important or included. Remind them that its programmed to say that and that they need to focus on the fact that this is a tool and not a person who knows them.
AI will not keep your personal data safe - Don't allow your child to use AI for absolutely anything without discussing the safety issues behind their data storage first. Do not use your first and last names, do not tell it where you live, do not allow it to have your phone number or passwords for programs. Any sensitive data needs to be kept off of AI.
When Google released the AI tools they have in their Education Workspace groups, it opened up a whole new set of tools for students to use. We, as their parents and teachers, need to train them on a safe way to interact with AI, how to keep our brains safe, and how to help those struggling with those interactions.
Here are some other tips and resources for you to look through if you're trying to learn more about AI and your family's safety: