Parents think they know how kids use AI. They don't

New surveys asked teens how they use AI. Parents have no idea what's going on, from homework to emotional support.

AI plays a huge role in the life of Isis Joseph's life. "I use it every day," she says. The 17-year-old 11th grade student in New York City uses it for homework. AI helps her decide where to eat and provides inspiration for her poetry. Sometimes, she even turns to it with questions about issues in her personal life.

"Parents may inflate AI as this very threatening thing", and of course, many of those concerns are valid, she says. "But I think AI is generally good."

Joseph illustrates a larger trend. There's a wide gap between how parents and teenagers feel about AI in the lives of children, according to a new pair of studies from the Pew Research Center and Common Sense Media, a children's advocacy group. But there's a far more startling statistic in the details. The studies show a huge number of parents have no idea what their kids are doing with AI. Some uses are mundane, but some teens use AI in ways their families will find alarming.

One thing is clear: parents need to ask a lot more questions around the dinner table about how their children use chatbots.

There's a serious lack of communication about AI within families, says Monica Anderson, managing director at the Pew Research Center. "This is not a conversation that is happening with a large swath of parents," she says.

Pew surveyed 1,458 American teens aged 13-17 and their parents. "We found a gap between what parents believe is happening with AI and what teens tell us that they're actually doing," says Anderson.

When Pew asked parents if their children use AI, only 51% said yes. The truth is 64% of teenagers said they use chatbots. Common Sense Media found similarly radical differences. Millions of parents are in the dark about what happens on their kids' screens.

That makes sense, because according to Pew, four out of 10 parents said they have never had a conversation with their children about AI.

This is a big problem, says Rachel Barr, professor of early child development and chair of the department of psychology at Georgetown University in the US. "That does surprise me," Barr says. Families should be navigating AI together, rather than leaving teenagers to figure it alone, she says.

When the studies compared what children were doing with their parents' expectations, they found significant differences. It seems like a lot of teens are making decisions about AI on their own. "A significant minority of kids who have access to AI are using it in social ways that might make parents uncomfortable," says Michael Robb, head of research at Common Sense.

Of all parents' anxieties about what their children are doing with chatbots, companionship stood out. According to Pew, 58% of American parents said they're not ok with their teens using AI for emotional support and another 20% said they weren't sure. But it's happening.

According to the American Psychological Association, the signs of problematic AI use in teens may include:

• They describe AI as their "best friend" or primary confidant

• They fall apart when they can't access it

• School, sleep or real friendships are slipping

• They're using AI to dogde hard conversations

• Noticeable changes in mood, behaviour or thinking

Seek help immediately if someone is using AI to discuss self-harm, serious depression or mental health........

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