It never ceases to amaze me how kids can FEEL tech shifts coming from a mile away. They don’t rely on studies or hard facts… their evidence is their bodies. They feel the change. We ought to listen to them more. #ai #aiandsociety

I think if we were smarter, we would listen to 13-year-olds more. I study AI, specifically AI's impact on society. Recently, I interviewed a series of students and teachers from high school to college. And what I heard from them is so different from the story that I hear when we talk about AI in the corporate world or on Wall Street. Here's an excerpt from an actual conversation that I had with a senior at UW-Madison. I've talked with my roommates. They refuse to use it. In a way, I'm envious because they've never started. My roommates will write an entire essay. Writing is getting easier for them, but harder for me. They're getting smarter, and I'm getting dumber. I'm getting better grades, but they're putting the work in. It's replacing my critical thinking skills. As a human being, I am not getting any smarter with AI. I think as adults, we take for granted the fact that we've already finished school. Critical thinking is a muscle, and we are inheriting this tool with that muscle already being strong. I think young people are being put in this impossible position where they're basically being forced to decide. Do you want to have a strong mind? Do you want to have critical thinking skills? And if you do, then you will be forced to resist the greatest temptation that you ever could. I'm going to put a tool in front of you that will immediately dissolve all of your stress, guarantee an A on all of your grades, allow you to focus on whatever it is you want to do in the moment, including all of the dopamine hijacking tools that I've also put in your pocket, a la TikTok and Instagram. You can scroll all night long if only you just have special little Chachapiti finish your essay for you. And that's seriously messed up. And we don't offer them frameworks or literature or guidance or instructions on how to use these tools appropriately. We owe kids resources. We owe them much more than just good luck.