Teens have always been ahead of the curve when it comes to learning new technology, and artificial intelligence is no exception. Now, new research shows just how proficient teens are with AI, and how little parents and other adults really know about it.
In a recent survey of more than a thousand U.S. parents and their teens, the nonprofit Common Sense Media found 70% of the teens they surveyed had used some form of AI, but only a little more than a third (37%) of their parents knew about it. Nearly a quarter (23%) of parents believed their kids had not used AI at all.
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While teens mess around with AI chatbots to stave off boredom or use search engines with AI-generated results, the survey found teens are most commonly using the technology for help with their homework. Over half (53%) of teens were using AI for help with assignments.
Common Sense Media found a pretty even split between teens whose teachers gave them permission to use AI for help with assignments and those who didn’t get permission.
While AI can definitely come in handy, experts with Common Sense Media say parents should talk to their kids about the pitfalls associated with it — like its tendency to be more biased than humans or to share misleading or flat-out wrong information. They say it might also be difficult for teens to realize when using AI crosses the boundary into cheating.
Common Sense Media said parents should test out the AI tools their kids are using with them and talk about how to decipher if the AI is right or wrong.
