Surprisingly, many leaders in the technology industry are limiting their children’s access to digital devices and social media. Some technology executives encourage kids to keep smartphones locked away, while Mark Zuckerberg rarely shares his children’s faces publicly on Facebook or Instagram.
However, it is impossible to avoid technology completely. Digital tools are embedded in nearly every part of modern life, so we must prepare children to live safely and confidently in the world we have created—not the world we wish existed. The challenge is helping kids thrive in an increasingly connected, AI-powered society.
That is the focus of the latest issue of Kids MIT Technology Review. Created with the editors of Anyway, an engaging magazine for tweens and teens, the issue explores how young people really feel about artificial intelligence, the support networks helping children cope with overlapping global crises, and what happens when a child’s robotic best friend stops working.
The issue also examines why children can sometimes learn more effectively than AI, whether parental surveillance apps truly keep kids safe online, how schools can promote responsible AI use, and what happens when technology begins to reshape childhood. These questions are explored through an exclusive new work of fiction by author and AI ethicist Jenny Williams.
Together, these stories examine how childhood is changing in the age of artificial intelligence—and how parents, educators, and communities can help children navigate the digital world. Subscribe now to read the complete print issue.
Bill Gates Says Humanity Has Crossed the AI Danger Threshold. What Does That Mean?
—Matt Honan
It is a beautiful day in Kirkland, Washington, an affluent Seattle suburb on the eastern shore of Lake Washington. The temperature is in the mid-80s, the sky is brilliantly blue, and the views are spectacular—and vaguely unsettling.
The setting may be peaceful, but the messenger is not. Bill Gates is sitting across from me at a conference room table, rocking back and forth in his chair. As he discusses the risks of terrorism, economic collapse, and the possibility of losing control of advanced AI systems, I find myself increasingly troubled by the implications of artificial intelligence.
Source: www.technologyreview.com