What happens when your kids aren’t AI fluent

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Nadim Nasser (our Apollo program director) and I recently gave a talk on teaching kids about AI at Mindvalley University in Estonia.

We talk about AI a lot at Prequel. Because whether we like it or not, kids are going to be using AI.

And there are only two ways to respond:

1. Bury your head in the sand, or

2. Get with the program and actively support kids’ understanding of AI with curriculum and content on how to use it wisely.

Unfortunately, most schools fall squarely in the first camp: like the public schools in Seattle, Los Angeles, Maryland, Virginia, and Alabama, which have all outright banned the use of ChatGPT.

If we don’t teach kids how to use AI correctly, we’re guaranteeing that kids will use it wrong.

And not only that, if we prevent kids from using AI entirely, we’re setting them up to fall behind.

💡 What happens when we don’t teach kids about AI

If we don’t teach kids about AI, they’ll use it anyway — just in the wrong ways, at the wrong times.

Take, for example, some recent applications we’ve received for our programs.

We asked, “Who’s a role model you have in your life?” and we’ve seen kids submit answers that included ChatGPT’s signature phrase: “I’d be happy to help you brainstorm some ideas for your essay.”

Your kid certainly won’t get into our program using AI like this. And if they use AI like this on their college applications, when applying for an internship, or even just to get through a school assignment, you can guess what the consequences might be.

AI is incredibly powerful, but it has its limits. It’s predictive, so it’s just guessing based on the data it has — which means, it’s sometimes wrong.

A team of lawyers was caught citing several cases they’d gotten from ChatGPT that didn’t actually exist. If a professional can get tripped up with AI, we know kids will, too.

This is why it’s imperative that we teach kids how to use AI correctly. Kids need to know its limitations, as well as its possibilities.

How AI can make your kid a genius

We always hear about the limitations of AI. But its possibilities are even more noteworthy:

• It can save our kids time by handling the menial tasks and busywork, so kids can focus their energy on actually learning.

• It can give our kids personalized, affordable tutoring that’s available 24/7.

• It can make learning interactive and dynamic — letting our kids ask questions instead of passively reading a dry textbook.

School is composed of three elements: learning, reviewing, and executing. AI can help with all of them.

Kids can learn with AI by asking ChatGPT to explain a concept more simply, or at a level appropriate for their specific age or grade level. They can have AI generate analogies to explain academic concepts in terms of things they’re already interested in, like Pokemon or video games.

Kids can review with AI by having ChatGPT create quizzes for them based on what they’ve learned. With GPT-4 or ChatPDF, they can even create one based on the PDF file of a textbook. Kids can also use the Wisdolia extension on Google Chrome to automatically generate flashcards for the information on a given webpage.

And finally, kids can execute with AI not by having it write their essay for them, but by having it help them brainstorm topics, create an outline, write an introduction, or get feedback based on the rubric. They can also use apps like Gamma to create presentations so they can focus on practicing their delivery rather than wasting time choosing stock photos. They can even use ChatGPT to create a study schedule that takes into account all of their commitments, upcoming deadlines, and afterschool activities.

The point is, we can’t get stuck in our fear of AI and ignore all the possibilities. AI can help our kids cheat on their homework, but it can also help them learn better. At the end of the day, it’s just a tool — and we can help our kids wield it well.

(And if you want to explore more possibilities with AI, check out our list of chatGPT prompts for K-12 students!)

AI Masterclass: Prepare Your Teen for an AI-Driven Future

Our 90-minute, LIVE AI Masterclass offers expert guidance and clear, actionable ways for high schoolers to:

🌟 Leverage AI for success: How to use AI for college applications, business ideas, and more
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🤖 Stand out from the competition: How to leverage AI to showcase your strengths and get an edge on AI late adopters

The next class is only a week away. Save your spot.

For younger kids: show them just how fun AI can be

If you have younger kids, the best way to teach them about AI is by showing them how to have fun with it.

When kids have fun with AI, they’ll eventually figure out how to use it in bigger and better ways.

So what does fun look like? At Apollo, we let kids turn AI into an outlet for their creativity.

• We have a slam poetry contest with AI. Kids choose their topics (anything goes, from pizza to Minecraft), and they all get a chance to perform their ChatGPT-generated poem.

• Or kids can make a game using ChatGPT — here’s a prompt to start: “You are a text-based video game. Give me options A, B, C, and D as my choices. The theme is [Harry Potter, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, anything goes]. I start with 100 health, and I lose health if I get hurt in the game.” As kids play, they can adjust the parameters and add complexity to their game.

• You can even let kids create their own stories with AI — Wizard.ai lets you input any variable of a story prompt, and then it gives you a 20-page story that kids can proudly share with friends and family.

So if you don’t know how to start teaching your kids about AI, just start teaching them to have fun with it.

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Want us to teach your kids about AI? Check out our AI Masterclass.

🚀 Community Highlights: BETA Camp Startups

This week, we’re featuring three BETA Camp student-created startups from our most recent cohort - all of which launched just this past weekend.

You can watch their pitches LIVE at our Demo Day event this Friday, August 25th from 12-4 PM ET. Use this link to see what kids can build and sell in under a month!

• BuddyBox: Curated with love and backed with research, BuddyBox is a customized sensory toy box catered to children with neurodevelopmental disorders (such as ADHD and autism). Includes fidgets, and more. Find us at BuddyBox.shop!

• Chorify: Have your kids been slacking lately? Here’s Chorify, an interactive platform that tailors chore plans, rewards, and streaks to build their productivity habits. Let us help you equip your child with a new attitude towards house work! Sign up for a 1-week FREE trial!

• Pawrcel: Delivering tail-wagging products to your pup's doorstep! Pawrcel is customized pet box filled with the best products for your furry friend. Whether you're looking for a special gift for your pet's birthday or just want to spoil them rotten, our custom boxes are the pawr-fect choice! Includes toys, playbooks, and more. Get your Pawrcel today at pawrcel.com!

Find out more about BETA Camp here.

🚀 Watch: How kids can use AI image generators to build a business

Designing a logo, creating app icons, and finding the right images can be overwhelming, especially for beginners.

Introducing the magic of AI Image Generation. Watch the video here.

Thanks for reading!

Until next time,

Ivy

CEO Prequel, BETA Camp, Apollo

Follow my journey on LinkedIn