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posted by martyb on Thursday August 29 2019, @03:40PM   Printer-friendly
from the and-don't-believe-promises-of-cake dept.

The Wall Street Journal reports:

As a new generation grows up surrounded by artificial intelligence, researchers find education as early as preschool can help avoid confusion about robots' role

If you want your preschooler to grow up with a healthy attitude toward artificial intelligence, here's a tip: Don't call that cute talking robot 'he' or 'she.'

Call the robot 'it.'

Today's small children, aka Generation Alpha, are the first to grow up with robots as peers. Those winsome talking devices spawned by a booming education-tech industry can speed children's learning, but they also can be confusing to them, research shows. Many children think robots are smarter than humans or imbue them with magical powers.

The long-term consequences of growing up surrounded by AI-driven devices won't be clear for a while. But an expanding body of research is lending new impetus to efforts to expand technology education beyond learning to code, to understanding how AI works. Children need help drawing boundaries between themselves and the technology, and gaining confidence in their own ability to control and master it, researchers say."

[...] How to Raise an AI-Savvy Child

* Use the pronoun "it" when referring to a robot.

* Display a positive attitude toward the beneficial effects of AI.

* Encourage your child to explore how robots are built.

* Explain that humans are the source of AI-driven devices' intelligence.

* Guard against AI-propelled toys that presume too much, such as claiming to be your child's best friend.

* Invite children to consider the ethics of AI design, such as how a bot should behave after winning a game.

* Encourage skepticism about information received from smart toys and devices.


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  • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 29 2019, @04:14PM (4 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 29 2019, @04:14PM (#887333)

    Technically, all chips are just some enchanted stones since the age of first integrated circuits, that is two human generations ago already.

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  • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Thursday August 29 2019, @05:13PM (2 children)

    by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Thursday August 29 2019, @05:13PM (#887376) Journal

    These magic black chips, or enchanted stones as you call them, are filled with magical powers known as the magical black smoke.

    When you do something that releases the magical black smoke, the chip no longer has any magical powers.

    For example, connecting a 5v chip directly to the secondary of a variac and then cranking it up to see what happens.

    --
    People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
    • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 29 2019, @05:40PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 29 2019, @05:40PM (#887395)

      Everybody knows the magic smoke that manufacturers put in chips is blue.

      But it's not only smoke, there's actually a small demon inside every IC package. The magical runes etched onto PCBs are what control the demon, and tiny gold bonding wires keep him restrained. These demons get angry if you work them too hard, which causes the chip to heat up.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 29 2019, @07:22PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 29 2019, @07:22PM (#887447)

      Yes. When one lovingly releases it's logical vapors I breathe deeply of the fumes, thus consuming the essence of the system akin to the Oracle of Delphi. Just as I would consume the courage of my enemies by eating their hearts. That rich, tasty courage! </Farnsworth>

      I never paused to consider the influence over the years of huffing overloaded components.... but I can quit anytime I want.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 29 2019, @05:44PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 29 2019, @05:44PM (#887398)

    "If you ever write some code that seems like a hack, just remember, the chip you are running it on is just a rock that we tricked into thinking.

    Not to oversimplify, first you have to put lightning into the rock."