This week, for the respective editions of their newsletters, Kids Today and User Friendly, senior correspondents Anna North and Adam Clark Estes have a chat about something that’s occupying both of them as journalists and as parents of young kids: How AI will shape the lives of the next generation?

Anna North: Hi Adam! Excited to chat about AI and kids! In addition to reporting on kids for work, I also have a 7-year-old (who is home sick today and watching Amphibia right now, so might interrupt), and a 2-year-old (who is not currently home sick, yay!).

Adam Clark Estes: Hey Anna! My kid is not yet 2, but as they say, the days are long, but the years are short. I feel like I’ll be meeting her AI friends in no time.

Anna: Ha! So speaking of which, should we kick this off by talking a little bit about our hopes and fears for our kids growing up in the age of AI?

I do feel like there’s a lot to be hopeful about: I’m excited that my kids will grow up in a time when we can use AI to develop new drugs and decode elephant language (although maybe some of those AI tools are more properly called machine learning?).

My biggest fear is that my kids won’t see the point of learning certain skills, like writing and math, because AI can do those tasks for them. I certainly worry about AI taking jobs, too, but that’s a ways away for my kids.

Adam: I’m actually not that worried about my kid having AI friends. She probably will! I just hope that she doesn’t spend too much time with them or too much time with AI-powered technology in general.

I hope we enter this new AI era together and learn how these tools can make our lives better, richer, and more interesting. It reminds me of how the internet came of age around the same time I did, but my parents seemed too afraid to figure it out at the time. I hope I can be brave.

Anna: My dad was actually an internet early adopter, and so we did enter that era together, which was sweet. We used to go to Doctor Who chatrooms — I remember once listing “our” age as “43 and 12.” That was nice for me because 1) I learned to use a computer and 2) I learned to be curious and not fearful around new technologies. Except I am a little fearful around AI! Maybe I have to channel that spirit of curiosity a little more........

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