Brilliant, again, Ben. Thank you for writing this and articulating so clearly the concern I share with you— that the (Gen)AI assault of young people in the name of education is indeed a threat to democracy itself.
I see parents and children, infants and older, walking in the park, not interacting in any way. Parents talking but not to the child, but on the phone. The child is learning every second that they are secondary to that phone. They soon learn not to listen for or to mom's or dad's voice, because it's usually not addressed to them.
They are not learning that tone of voice is connected to emotions that are connected to what is actually happening in the real world. They are learning that what is in the world around them is not of any interest, has no names, and is meaningless to their existence. Maybe, the most important message children are getting is that people, including family and themselves are uninteresting, and of no importance.
Long before the time this next generation gets to school, how much damage has already been done? How much is irreversible? Starting with school seems too much like that old saying, "locking the barn door after the horse has been stolen.
This really does a nice job of articulating some of my intuitions on the social deprivation of the AI hype train
Also I just haven't gotten around to the previous article. I promise to give it a like!
Brilliant, again, Ben. Thank you for writing this and articulating so clearly the concern I share with you— that the (Gen)AI assault of young people in the name of education is indeed a threat to democracy itself.
I see parents and children, infants and older, walking in the park, not interacting in any way. Parents talking but not to the child, but on the phone. The child is learning every second that they are secondary to that phone. They soon learn not to listen for or to mom's or dad's voice, because it's usually not addressed to them.
They are not learning that tone of voice is connected to emotions that are connected to what is actually happening in the real world. They are learning that what is in the world around them is not of any interest, has no names, and is meaningless to their existence. Maybe, the most important message children are getting is that people, including family and themselves are uninteresting, and of no importance.
Long before the time this next generation gets to school, how much damage has already been done? How much is irreversible? Starting with school seems too much like that old saying, "locking the barn door after the horse has been stolen.