Think of AI less like a dangerous substance to ban, and more like a calculator…
— from a response generated by Google’s AI app, ‘Gemini’, to the question: “What is the best way to keep my kids from using AI?”
My kids are slowly turning into mature adults, and as a result, they’re actually starting to ask my opinion about stuff.
It’s been many, many years since they wanted my opinion.
“Is organic butter really worth the extra money?”
“Can you recommend a good, cheap ukulele?”
“What do you think about me quitting my job and becoming an online influencer?”
Knowing myself as well as I do, I would never ask me for advice. Especially, about the stock market.
Having my kids ask my advice is frankly a bit weird, because they could just as easily pose their questions to an AI app like ‘Gemini’ or ‘ChatGPT’ and make believe they were getting superior advice… on the assumption that these AI platforms are able to consolidate all the fatherly advice ever posted to the Internet, and then summarize the best guidance from practically all the fathers in the world.
Yesterday morning, I found myself wondering what these AI apps think of themselves. Do they possess a realistic self-assessment of their own inadequacies? Because that’s a necessary element of what we call “intelligence’.
Out of curiosity, I asked a couple of the AI apps about the best way to keep my kids from using AI. Both them thought I was talking about young children, and gave me advice like:
Set clear boundaries and rules
- Establish which AI tools are off-limits and which, if any, are permitted with supervision
- Define when and where AI can be used (e.g., not for homework, not without a parent present)
- Having computers in the living room makes oversight easier
This was a waste of everyone’s time, frankly. The AI apps should have asked me “Well, how old are your kids?” before burning up kilowatts of electricity giving me an inappropriate answer. That’s a real problem with intelligent machines. They make assumptions they shouldn’t be making.
Anyway, I had to ask the question differently.
“What is the best way to convince my adult children to avoid AI?”
‘Gemini’ started to answer my question, but then the response suddenly disappeared, for no apparent reason. But we can guess the reason.
‘Claude’ gave me a thoughtful response, concluding with:
Pick your battles. Total AI avoidance is a very high bar — you may have more success encouraging healthy skepticism and selective use than an all-or-nothing stance. The most persuasive thing you can do is stay curious, stay informed, and share your perspective without making it a conflict.
The comment about “not making it a conflict” is good advice for almost any discussion. But sometimes you just can’t help it. Especially with your own kids.
The response from ChatGPT also suggested that “total avoidance” might not be the most realistic proposal for my adult children.
Focus on responsible use rather than complete avoidance.
- Verify important information independently.
- Avoid sharing sensitive personal data.
- Use AI as a tool, not as a substitute for judgment or expertise.
The main problem with the fatherly advice coming from these AI sources is, they’ve never had kids. In point of fact, they don’t even know what a ‘kid’ is. They’ve only read about them.
To refer back to that quote from the ‘Gemini’ response.
Think of AI less like a dangerous substance to ban, and more like a calculator…
I never thought of AI as a dangerous substance, so I don’t know where that comment came from. Yes, it’s dangerous, but it’s obviously not a substance. Unless electricity is a substance. Which I don’t think it is.
But AI sure as heck is nothing like a calculator.
I still have my solar-powered calculator from high school, and it has never tried to tell me what to do. Especially, it never acted like it knows more than I do.
Most importantly, I trust my calculator.
Underrated writer Louis Cannon grew up in the vast American West, although his ex-wife, given the slightest opportunity, will deny that he ever grew up at all. You can read more stories on his Substack account.