You know what they say: data doesn’t lie.

That’s why I was so excited to dig into two important studies released by Common Sense Media this year: Teen and Young Adult Perspectives on Generative AI and The Dawn of the AI Era.

A crucial part of AI literacy for parents is knowing:

a) whether your kids are using generative AI

b) how they are engaging with generative AI and what they are using it for

These studies reveal how widespread AI use has become among teens and young adults and offer insights into their perspectives on this powerful technology. Above all, they highlight parents' critical role in guiding their children's AI use.

If you have children old enough to use this technology, please find time to discuss it with them over the holidays!

Today, you’ll discover

• AI Reviews for Kids

• 2024 Rewind: Generative AI + Kids

• AI Granny takes down scammers and more!

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Today’s apple: AI Risk Assessments by Common Sense Media

⚠️ Spoiler alert ⚠️ 
According to Common Sense Media studies, 70% of children between the ages of 13 and 18 have used at least one generative AI tool.

How can parents know which AI tools and chatbots are appropriate for their children? Common Sense Media's expert AI Review team uses a robust assessment framework to rate and review AI for children and provide recommendations!

These assessments act as AI ‘nutrition labels’.

Use this for your unofficial ammi.ai holiday homework assignment: Talk to your kids about Generative AI. If your children use AI tools, check the website for an assessment.

Then, review the assessment together, helping them understand the safety considerations of each tool and what they should be mindful of when using AI.

Your 2024 AI Wrapped: Generative AI + Kids Edition

“Generative AI + Kids Wrapped” provides insight into how teens, young adults, and their parents use Generative AI and how they feel about a future with generative AI.

This awareness will help us continue to pursue a healthy relationship with AI in 2025 and beyond 🚀 

A quick note on the survey sample for each study:

Teen and Young Adult Perspectives on Generative AI

• Who was surveyed: Teens and young adults aged 14–22.

• Sample size: 1,274 participants from diverse racial, gender, and socioeconomic backgrounds.

The Dawn of the AI Era

• Who was surveyed: Teens aged 13–17 and their parents.

• Sample size: 1,622 teens and 1,625 parents, providing intergenerational perspectives on AI use.

The top hit? AI-powered search engines like Bing and Google Search Generative Experience (SGE), with 56% of teens relying on them for quick info.

49% of parents surveyed hadn’t talked to their children about Generative AI. Which brings us back to our unofficial holiday homework assignment 🙂 

Parents' top concern is that their kids will use AI to cheat their way through school (78% of parents) and that students will not learn critical skills (77% of parents).

Teens want adults to know that AI can be used to amplify their creativity and not just as a means to cheat. “We think it is cool and a good way to make life more interesting. AI also can help us to create things that we couldn’t create before”, one teen notes.

60% of teens said that their school has no rules for how generative AI can be used or that they're not sure if there are rules.

Class discussions about AI help teens become more mindful AI users. Students who learn about generative AI in school are more likely to double-check AI outputs and verify information from multiple sources.

Students who have exposure to generative AI or learn about AI in school are also more likely to have a positive outlook about their future with AI.

Teens who talked about AI in school had more balanced views of its risks and benefits.

We don’t have the time and space to cover all the fascinating insights from these studies in a single newsletter. Some additional insights from the studies:

• Comparing parents’ and kids’ use of generative AI

• Parents’ and kids’ top concerns about generative AI

• Significant findings on generative AI use (and falsely accused use) across racial lines

• Who, among parents and kids, is optimistic about AI, and who isn’t

• What teens and young adults want parents to know about generative AI

• Overall key lessons learned

If you want to learn more about the study results, it’s time to go to the polls! Well, poll…singular. This one right here 👇️ 

Here are a couple of fresh picks for you!

🍐 AI Granny takes down scammers

Nanis (maternal grandmothers) and dadis (paternal grandmothers) are the best at a lot of things: making heart-warming meals, giving gifts, telling stories. Well, add ‘taking down scammers’ to the list. British company O₂ created Daisy, an AI Granny designed to waste scammers’ time with lifelike, rambling conversations. Daisy is added to scam call lists to keep scammers on the line and prevent them from targeting real victims.

🍇 Mom’s use of ChatGPT leads to son’s diagnosis

In this episode of the NEJM AI Grand Rounds podcast, a mother shares how she turned to ChatGPT in desperation after a fruitless 3-year search to diagnose her son’s chronic pain. AI uncovered a possible diagnosis - tethered cord syndrome - which a specialist confirmed. A fascinating case of Ammi + ChatGPT + human medical expert collaboration - here is a summary of the podcast transcript. Shoutout to Zainab E. - the Ammi who shared this with me!

🍒 Teaching your kids the value of computational thinking

A final Common Sense Media cherry to top off this letter. If, while doing your holiday homework, your kid asks, ‘If AI Can Do It, Why Should I?’ this short blog offers some helpful guidance.

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