The Wrong AI Fear

There is a hidden danger with AI that has nothing to do with a coming Terminator or living in the Matrix. The real risk likely won’t affect those of us who are 30+, but rather our kids.

Many of them already rely on AI in ways older generations do not. They give it agency to make decisions for them. It’s becoming a trusted companion, maybe even more than that. Something they share their deepest fears, triumphs, thoughts, and dreams with.

I’m not worried about AI itself. I don’t believe it will become conscious. I’m worried about humans.

While we may be “paving the road with good intentions,” we could be leading future generations to trade critical thinking for the infinite answers of an AI oracle. It’s not the answers themselves that concern me, but the dependency on them. We are slowly replacing the judgment of people who have a child’s best interests in mind with a black-box system few truly understand.

Never in history has there been a system, concept, or entity that people could confide in universally, that responds instantly, and does so with such convincing certainty. If marketing once convinced us that Santa Claus was the reason for Christmas because Coca-Cola sales dipped in winter, imagine what AI could influence. How will it shape our children’s thoughts, values, and perceptions?

The deeper question is this:

Who will shape our children’s thoughts and perceptions?

That is the real problem. And by the time it’s obvious, it may already be too late.