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https://theconversation.com/why-exposing-young-children-to-ai-content-could-have-irreversible-consequences-277719>
"Artificial intelligence (AI) already affects many areas of daily life,
including the lives of young children.
Many families give screens to children younger than two, and AI-generated
content is increasing on the popular YouTube Kids channel – and it plays
automatically.
Most parents are not able to monitor everything their child sees online. Some
AI-generated content can be both frightening and attractive to young children,
including violence and sexual content using engaging animals and characters.
Early childhood education centres are also using AI to support learning,
particularly for children with developmental differences. This includes those
who do not learn to speak easily or who have other communication problems
related to autism or intellectual disability.
In the US, many parents report their children are using AI for school work. The
encouragement for early childhood centres, schools and parents to use AI with
children is based on short-term studies, but the long-term impacts are unknown.
The only way to know how AI may affect young children would be through
well-designed longitudinal studies. But by the time robust evidence emerged, a
whole generation would have grown up exposed – and if there are indeed harmful
effects, these may be irreversible.
There are already some alarm bells ringing over AI’s potential impact.
New Zealand research shows high use of screens during early childhood is
associated with poor language, social and relational functioning.
Many children love to use screens, and AI is likely to be similarly rewarding
because AI models are endlessly patient and instantly responsive to the topics
of your choosing and do not seem to demand anything."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
