Raising our kids to fight Skynet
An urban farmer parents with an unknown AI future
The news lately is all about Artificial Intelligence (AI). Some of the developments are exciting, others deeply creepy. Depending on your reading, the world is about to change into a panacea, or we'll be riding around in dune buggies Mad Max-style. It could go either way.
With two little kids, watching the news makes me wonder how to best prepare them for the brave new world - one I probably can't even imagine. This week my son wore a sport coat and tie to school and asked if he could one day be a news anchor - will those even exist by the time he's college age? If you believe the news, AI is about to fundamentally restructure all aspects of our lives.
What will "work" look like for our children? What will it even look like for us in five or ten years? Everyone I know who works in PR, politics, tech, medicine, art, blogging, news, HR, law, content creation, and radio are all freaking out about AI.
Past generations have struggled with what the future will look like for their children, but it seems as if the changes in society and technology are following an exponential growth curve these days. Raising children in such a world makes it hard to know how best to prepare them - there are so many unknown unknowns.
I have a constant internal debate - am I helping my kids' brains by limiting screen time, or will they be behind the curve because all their peers' will be more adept at technology? If I foster individuality and skepticism of authority, am I just setting them up to fail in a society that seems to value those less than ever?
Regardless of which direction society goes, there are some fundamental things I want to instill in my kids I hope serve them, even if they're fighting Skynet:
An understanding of the natural world - Whether they're using the latest technologies to find better ways to live and thrive or running away from robot armies that have decided humans no longer need to exist on Earth, my children will need to understand how the natural world around them works.
The more time they spend appreciating those natural systems that drive all life, the better off they'll be. On an urban farm, it's relatively easy to lean in on lessons about plants, animals, soil, and water. Kids awash in sunlight with a healthy fear of red ants run in and out of the house all day. Constant interaction with our world's animating forces instills such a healthy perspective in them.
Even if my sons decide to live virtually-driven lives later, a platform of understanding what natural life and death cycles drive us, how the world works, and, therefore, their place in it will make all subsequent interactions more grounded.
Gratitude - A result of living seated in the natural world is a sense of appreciation for this life. Watching as even the smallest being emerges and lives to its inevitable death reminds us that the chances that the mere fact we exist in this moment - that I would be typing these words right now - is infinitesimally small.
In even the darkest and most painful moments, there is always something to be thankful for. But the ability to see those things can often be obscured by computer and phone screens. I hope my children can always go outside, stick their hands in the dirt, and realize the fact they're here is basically a miracle. Whoever (or whatever) is feeding them messaging through some device is no replacement for bearing witness to real life.
An ability to identify objective truth - One of the concerns about AI is that if it gains sentience, it will then be able to give incorrect information depending on circumstances.
Now, my three-year-old is already learning that lesson as he swipes the last of the Easter Candy, and I find the wrappers hidden in crevices in our couch - but it could be hugely dangerous if those computer systems that increasingly run the world all decide to start lying to us.
We're already getting practice in the degradation of objective truth. As trust in those institutions we used to rely on continues to erode, and terms like "my truth" and "your truth" start to take hold, it's more important than ever to discern between fact, fiction, and perspective.
I constantly ask, "Is this a fact, or is this how you feel?" to help my kids distinguish between the two.
If the sky is blue, it's blue. 2 + 2 = 4
Integrity - As technology continues to develop, the pressures to cheat systems will also increase. Some of that is natural.
By the time I was doing college math, there was no way I would have passed without a calculator (shout out to my TI-85); if you'd handed me an abacus, it would have been game over for me. Being able to utilize the technology that exists to come to correct conclusions is part of learning.
The lines between right and wrong, lying and cheating vs utilizing technology to its fullest, are about to get much thinner and a lot blurrier. Making lines clear and obvious for my kids now will help them to make better choices as they move forward into the brave new robot world.
A love of learning and the value of work - That said, when we start to allow technology to replace thinking, we're in the danger zone. My kids can use a calculator or an AI, but I want them to have a fundamental understanding of WHY they're doing what they're doing and what comes out the other end.
I see it already in myself: when I was little, I could have rattled off not just my phone number but those of 5 of my closest friends, several neighbors, the time and temperature number (message me if you don't know what this means), and both sets of grandparents (but I wasn't allowed to call them without parental permission because it was long distance). Today, I know my phone number and my husband's - that's it.
The incentives to learn less and stop striving will only increase as technology is capable of more work. Some of it is amazing, but some will rob us of a sense of capability and purpose.
My kids are three and five; I am already thoughtful about how I talk about "work" - homework, cleaning, or chores. It's not drudgery; it's a blessing to have. If I work with a sense of gratitude and purpose, they will too. I praise them when they're great helpers and give them increasingly complex jobs to use their bodies and minds.
Someday, I hope they find purpose and meaning in their vocations, and the only way to accomplish that is to express the joy I find in mine. No robot can steal that from them.
Ultimately, the future is an unknown unknown, and I can't spend a lot of time worrying about something I can't control. When I worry, it permeates every part of our lives and accomplishes nothing but also making my kids neurotic.
But, I can control how well my boys are ready to tackle whatever the future brings with flexibility and optimism - come what may.
It is such a scary time with all of this AI stuff coming out, but even more so when raising children amidst it all. But I think you have definitely got the focus right! You can’t go wrong with raising them in the natural world of farm life! that’s where all of the important things about life can be observed first hand!👍🏼
Wow! How scary is the future….and I remember how exciting electric typewriters were.