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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.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by EJ on Thursday August 29 2019, @06:16PM
Or its intelligence is within, and it is looking for Sarah Connor.
If we ignore people like the author of this story, and we treat our robots with respect and dignity, then we may end up with Rosie from the Jetsons and C3PO instead.
People are capable of making other people without having any idea how that process works, yet they still treat these new people as their equals after a period of time. Putting together a bunch of silicon-based materials, then letting another type of intelligence develop is not so different. We still have little clue how the intelligence actually works or where any sort of conscious thought begins and ends.
Basically, if you don't want to create a Constitutionally-protected person with the same rights as you, then wear a condom. If you don't want to create an intelligent robot that deserves the same type of consideration, then don't do it. If you do, then be prepared to live with the consequences.