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I have some big questions about how AI is affecting our kids:
- Will learning to write prompts in an AI program give kids the same sense of mastery that they would get from actually making art themselves?
- Are kids missing out on the therapeutic benefit of making things, because they don’t think they can compete with AI?
- Will artists at the beginning of their careers be able to compete with the massive amount of AI-generated photos, art, music videos and book that are flooding the internet?
- Will new artists, photographers, musicians and authors continue to share their work, when they know AI can steal it and spread pieces of their work all over the internet?
- And am I only worried because I’m an old lady who’s not comfortable with change? 🙂
Let me know what you think in the comment section below. And if you happen to know that the AI companies really have considered these things, and there are some studies proving that we shouldn’t be worried about it, let us know how to find them.
I am a retired educator. For most of my career, I had two simultaneous jobs: I was a high school music teacher, and a technology coordinator (a more harmonious combination than it might sound).
In my role as a choir director I was constantly guiding students through a creative arc of learning a new piece of challenging music, trying to solve artistic problems, polishing the music, and then presenting a culminating performance. Invariably at some point in the process one or more of my students would approach me with the statement “but this is so HARD!”. In my early years of teaching I used to try to assuage their concerns by trying to suggest otherwise. As I gained more experience, I learned to respond “Yes, you’re right. It is hard; but sometimes that’s what it takes to achieve excellence.” The payoff was when we got past the difficulty, and ended up with an excellent performance. I could see that student who had been so frustrated by the challenges practically glow with a sense of having overcome adversity, and having created something truly beautiful and worthwhile. And it was an accomplishment that they owned.
The miracle of art is not just the creation of something wonderful, but it is learning the process of confronting your limitations in working to achieve your goals, and overcoming them. The end result is both art, and growth.
My biggest worry over AI art is that we will learn to settle for mediocrity, that we will choose ease over pursuit of excellence, novelty and growth. AI has some useful applications to be sure, but when we allow it to replace our own (sometimes difficult) search for creative responses to the world, our lives will become significantly poorer.
Mike, I agree – and thank you for explaining it so well. I was just watching a podcast, and the guest was worried about AI taking over so much of the writing that’s being done, especially in schools. He said “If you don’t learn to write, you don’t learn to think.” I think you said the same thing about art and music. Every little piece of an art project, every part of the process of learning to sing a new song – or write one – is a small puzzle to be solved. And if we let technology do it for us, we’re allowing technology to do our thinking for us.
Jonni,
I am an adult educator and worked in the field of learning and development for 40 years. Throughout my corporate experience, we ,as professionals, would lament how the crucial skill of Critical Thinking, was diminishing due to the aid of computers. It’s obvious that folks will try to “plug and play” AI to ” supplement their problem solving capabilities. However, the brain is like a muscle…you use or lose it.
I am still teaching and have noticed,for instance in essay writing, that my adult students are blatantly supplanting AI for their own words .
The result is that when I ask my students, ” what did you mean when you wrote X in the essay?” They cannot explain what the wording means. This is an example of deterioration of creativity and critical thinking.
I coach my students and suggest the following strategy for using AI: you can certainly leverage the technology, but you have to be ready to explain your rationale. WHAT DID YOU MEAN WHEN YOU WROTE “X”?
THE DUMBING DOWN of our YOUTHS’ thinking skills is inevitable unless, as educators, put in measures to test understanding. I, for one, am very concerned.
I agree. I think that writing is one of the best ways to train your brain to think – but now that people don’t have to write anymore (just let AI do it) I’m worried about young people’s problem-solving ability. Will they be easier to manipulate with ads and propaganda? What will happen to them when the AI companies go bankrupt or the internet goes down? We’re already at the point where it’s hard to tell someone about a new idea if it requires more than one sentence to explain. Most people just can’t stay focused long enough to listen.
We should be worried! This isn’t just for “old ladies” to be concerned about. This is for everyone to think deeply about how we want to let AI into our lives – if at all. Not all new technologies succeed – think google glass – and we the consumers can say no.
So true! Thanks for reminding us. 🙂
Marc,
In response to your comment about ‘ making a choice’ to use AI. The issue with AI is it’s pervasive and invisible presence in our lives. More and more, it is taking over the thinking functionality of our modern society, that is ALREADY bereft of cognitive development.
In,short, what is our response when we DO NOT KNOW AI is at work? It’s insidious…..
Hi Jonni, I have worried about AI for a long time. I have noticed that there is a lot on FB and Pinterest. I have seen a lot of macrame posts, and they have been AI-generated. Hopefully, the schools keep art and crafts in school; otherwise, children will never learn to be creative.
I agree – art classes in the lower grades shouldn’t be using AI for anything. I hope they keep it out of writing classes, too. I saw a video last week that said a large percentage of college papers are being written by AI instead of students, and some professors are now using AI to help grade those papers. If my kid was in a school like that, I wouldn’t be happy about paying the tuition. It just doesn’t make much sense. But we should be able to control it in grade school, at least.
Hello Jonni. I completely agree with you. The whole AI phenomenon may be easy, but at the same time, it’s a tremendous impoverishment. Of course, I don’t want to deny that the internet has its good sides; otherwise, I would have never found you on your informative site (!). But especially when it comes to children who no longer learn to be creative, to come up with and create things, who don’t invent games to play together outside but instead sit inside alone with a phone or a laptop, I fear for a mentally impoverished generation. Honestly, I’ve been reducing my digital consumption for some time now. Less time behind the laptop, I’ve got rid of my mobile phone, and I try to have as few digital devices at home as possible. I fear that we can’t completely do without them in this society. Maybe something will happen that forces us to live like humans again. Sometimes I hope for that.
The Internet has been really important for me, for sure. I live in a tiny town, and I still haven’t met anyone here with any interest in paper mache or sculpture. Lots of arts and crafts, but paper mache is just to ‘niche,’ I guess. I’d probably still be working in the city, doing customer service or something, if it wasn’t for the opportunities I found online. I just don’t know how much longer it will last. I’ve become so dependent on it, that I don’t know what ‘getting back to normal’ would look like anymore.
Hey Jonni! I am a theater teacher and we were discussing in my elementary classes the importance of creativity, pretending & role playing in make believe stories. Most of my students said that they play mostly with others only through devices & games, that it was the “new play”.
I shared a few of my favorite make believe adventures I created when I was a kid like turning into Wonder woman by spinning around real fast then saving everyone in my front yard, or turning a rocking chair into a make believe Barbie dream house because we didn’t have those then; bending hangers and putting them on our heads to be Space Rangers . We were all laughing! And the little girls in my class looked so excited!!!
I gave a homework assignment to play with a friend or a sibling or by themselves away from their devices even if it was pretending they were the game but not be on their game!!!! They all came back with great stories!!!! There are many pros & cons to all the great technology we have access to.
We must learn how to use it wisely and teach our kids the same. We have to set boundaries for ourselves and our children!!! It reminds me of the movie WALLE!
What a great idea! And I’m so glad your students enjoyed it. It could make a big difference in their lives. (And WALL-E is one of my favorite animated movies!) 🙂
There is a woman named Dr. Temple Grandin, PhD. She is autistic which gives her a truly remarkable insight into these same concerns. She presents a very clear picture of what is happening as we become more reliant on technology and are losing the skills needed to rely on our own waning skills. Some of her more recent publications do focus on this point. I highly recommend her works.
I love her books! But I haven’t read the ones where she talks about technology. Can you recommend one that I should read next?
We’ve been stealing from our kids for many years. I’m in my 70’s and was brought up with books of all sorts in our homes and schools. We were required to read, READ, as in “sit down, open to 1st page, and read what the author has written.” We read the classics in literature, the works of the most skilled word-smiths and communicators of their time. It taught us not only new words and new ideas, it showed us how to use those assets in our ability to communicate and understand the thoughts of others. We learned how to write! I still won’t read an abridged version of any book, though these days, I defer to recorded books, unabridged. We didn’t get introduced to skills or subjects that did not match our maturity. As a computer programmer by profession, I could see that when grade schools began teaching programming languages to young kids, I became alarmed. It felt a bit like putting your 4th grader into a car or giving him a gun, showing him how to make it go fast or go “boom”, then turning him loose. Without the maturity to understand the environment into which they will be entering with that very narrow view, grave mistakes are ahead. We had our sports teams and such but our priority was to LEARN and our teachers were charged with showing us what we needed to learn to gain the maturity we would need in our futures. Technology is leading us into a world where we are simply too willing to accept the short-cuts it gives us, and in doing so, we are losing much of our own abilities in critical thinking, creative ventures, and the values of those waning talents and skills. We are starving ourselves and our futures.
I’m not sorry that I’m closer to the end of my life than the beginning. I don’t like what I have seen in these last few decades or what I can expect in the next few. As both my mother and grandmother both said in their times: “I’m too old for this world”. Now I’m echoing their mantra.
Things are definitely moving faster than they ever have before, and we really can’t predict how it will all come out. I’m hoping that enough young people will keep on learning, so the world will still be OK – even after the Internet dies and AI companies go out of business.
I absolutely agree and am envious of the way you have encapsulated the problem. There seems to be a massive industry developing over which no-one has any control. In the headlong rush to profit from the latest IT developments individual rights of intellectual ownership are being trampled and creativity degraded to a worthless level.
You are right. The joy of making is being threatened. What a world we will leave for our children.
Yes, that really worries me, too. One thing that I didn’t mention, but that also concerns me, is that AI might not last forever. It’s insanely expensive, and ordinary people will be paying very high energy and water bills but receiving almost no benefit from the data centers that are causing the prices to go up. There may come a day when people say “enough.” And a lot of finance folks are already worrying about a dot-com style crash because of the over-hyped AI stocks. If kids grow up in an AI-driven society, how will they cope if it suddenly disappears? Is that something we should worry about, too?
Marvellous! I totally agree with you about worrying whether kids will want to do stuff or just go for an A1 version as it’s quicker…however I have noticed that several young people I’ve met are aware of the issue and have decided not to engage with it- those folks also don’t like listening to the news or reading newspapers- ( I’m not sure if that makes a difference!).
Our UK government is likely to follow the US and let the big companies do what they want- despite strong opposition from artists and musicians here…
Personally I think it’s increasingly difficult to tell what is real and what isn’t, so I tend now to distrust any image or story that looks too good to be true…However I do use A1 to give advice over factual stuff but I’d never use it to generate an image as where would be the fun in that? Hopefully kids will think the same!
Keep ranting Jonni- it’s important to discuss this issue! X
Good points. And it sounds like you know some smart kids. 🙂
Hi Jonni,
I think you are raising an important concern.
After watching your video I wondered if the difference between traditionally created art and computer assisted art might involve different parts of the brain, as in right brain versus left brain. Here is an AI generated answer:
Distinct Brain Functions/Emphasis:
Manual Art: Might show heightened activation in areas associated with motor control and sensory feedback, as the artist directly interacts with materials and tools. This could include a stronger emphasis on areas involved in fine motor skills and tactile perception.
Computer-Assisted Art: May engage parts of the brain related to problem-solving, strategic thinking, and adapting to new tools and functionalities, as artists navigate complex software and digital interfaces.
I wonder if studies have been done to compare the two methods?
What an interesting idea! For complex AI-generated work, you’d need a lot of problem-solving. When I was trying to convince it to put my puppy’s leg back where it belonged in the second poster I tried, it felt like I needed a new language. The program was communicating in English, but didn’t seem to understand English at all. It was a weird argument, and I lost. But people do learn how to talk to those programs, and it probably takes a lot of skill. But it would only involve the brain, and not the body, and I wonder if that matters, too.
I agree!! I work with special needs children in schools! Hands on crafts are so important and they love being able to create art!! The power of touch! Imagination, sensation, creation! The human touch!! You’re the best!
I am an occupation therapist..
Yes, I believe all those things are really important, for all of us, and starting at a young age. Of course, kids have been starting at computer screens for years, but this AI thing feels different, somehow.
We won’t know what damage or not happens until a few years down the line. I’m old too. I won’t probably try AI because I feel it’s already beyond my capabilities. But I have a feeling it will bring out all sorts of new creative things.
Our art already gets stolen as soon as we put a picture of it up on the internet. Or people take photos of it at galleries or fairs and they copy it. It’s pretty much unavoidable.
I love your work.
That is so true – especially on the internet.