As so often we talk about a lot of things, but not about children, who are being raised with AI and a world where digital life takes over
Children get in contact with AI through many things. AI systems are “embedded in toys, virtual assistants, video games, and adaptive learning software”. Children are on social media and algorithms determine what they watch, what products are advertised to them, and how they regard sexuality, race, and religion.
These things can be dangerous. Especially because children lack the ability to reflect on the impact machines have on their decisions and their way of thinking. Let me give you three potential risks of AI in interaction with children and how we could use AI to protect and empower children instead.
AI is biased and talks in a biased way
Through chatbots or virtual assistants, for instance, children communicate with intelligent machines. However, what they probably don’t know is that AI is biased toward race or sexuality, and the way intelligent machines talk about these things, substantially shapes our minds and inflicts great ethical questions. Now as adults, we can reflect and debate about these ethics but children? If this machine that somehow knows everything tells them, “Muslims are more dangerous than Christians”, or “black people commit more crimes”, will they be able to reflect on that? If you are interested in the reasons AI is biased and how big companies deal with that, then you can read this article right here:
Google made their AI racist and doesn’t give a damn, should we?
An AI program that admires Hitler, robots who throw innocent black people in prison, and hates women? Why the rich…medium.com
AI systems provide recommendations that manipulate children
Algorithms on YouTube recommend what video you should watch next. They recommend products to you on Amazon that you wouldn’t buy, if the algorithm wouldn’t tell you to do so. This must cause great concern about free will and how we respond to stimuli that AI sets for us. Do we really want to buy this product or do the algorithms manipulate us to buy it? I think we all know the answer. However, if children’s will is manipulated at such a young age, how can they develop the skills of independent thinking and decision-making? As a German Philosopher named Peter Bieri claims: “Unsere Idee von Verantwortung lebt von dem Gedanken, dass der Betreffende handelte und sich nicht nur unwillkürlich bewegte”.
What that means is that responsibility is the thought that the person acts and does not move arbitrarily. There is a will to do something and people need to want freedom and work for it! However, how can children learn responsibility and the will to have freedom when they grow up in an environment that shapes and manipulates the mind before it is fully developed? So when a child grows up to manage their consuming behavior poorly, how can we make them responsible for that? AI tells us all every day, “BUY THAT, YOU NEED THAT”.
Data, goddamn DATA
Ultimately, children lack the understanding of how sensible data actually is and how data is stored in the cloud, in database systems on social media platforms, and so on. What they share, will have a bigger impact as they probably understand. Especially because algorithms often encourage us to share data and some parents are even so nice as to share data of their children themselves without their permission.
So should we just keep our children away from intelligent machines and the digital world? I don’t think so! In fact, the opposite should be done! This is the new world our children grow up in. This is the future our children will experience. They have to learn how these machines work and how they can use them for their benefit and yet get a sense of how ethical issues arise with these cool chatbots, toys, and tools. See, there is a lot of stuff we learn in school that is just pretty goddamn useless. So why are we not putting more focus on the things that matter most in our time of age? AI can help children to learn, they could give them non-biased feedback at schools someday, and AI could teach them about technology very early on. Why do we miss this chance?
References:
AI for children
AI systems are fundamentally changing the world and affecting present and future generations of children. Children are…www.unicef.org
Google made their AI racist and doesn’t give a damn, should we?
An AI program that admires Hitler, robots who throw innocent black people in prison, and hates women? Why the rich…medium.com
Kultur: Das Gehirn entscheidet gar nichts
Herr Bieri, prominente Hirnforscher wie Gerhard Roth oder Wolf Singer leugnen die Freiheit unseres Willens. Was würde…www.tagesspiegel.de
