Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

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.


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 2) by VLM on Friday August 30 2019, @03:09PM (1 child)

    by VLM (445) Subscriber Badge on Friday August 30 2019, @03:09PM (#887777)

    It's a transforming robot truck. What exactly is "male" about it? The timbre of it's voice?

    Its as male as Luke Skywalker, who is also a fictional character.

    Bad SN automobile analogies are a big thing around here and I'm pretty good at it; its worth considering that if Optimus Prime were supposed to be a lesbian, local cultural norms would dictate she's a transforming Subaru, not a transforming truck.

    A bit of google shows there is in fact a transforming Subaru Impreza WRC and shockingly enough it seems to be a dude with biceps and codpiece and golden blonde hair and big puffy moon boots (all in a robotic sense), when I was expecting baggy sporty clothes, hairy legs, and short dyed rainbow hair.

    This is one of those things where if I had a bit more spare time on my hands I could corner the market on those Impreza WRC transformers, subject them to reassignment surgery in my workshop to fit prevailing lesbian stereotypes, then make an unholy shitload of money selling them for a thousand bucks a piece on ebay to virtue signalling progressives. "I'm a better parent than all of you because I bought my son a Lesbian Impreza transformer" and so forth.

    In the old days, like the 80s, Transformers were pretty alt-right and based. As I recall Megatron was literally a Walther P-38 pistol. So its a market place ripe for the (usual folks) to subvert via "lesbian Impreza" or whatever.

    Starting Score:    1  point
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   2  
  • (Score: 2) by vux984 on Friday August 30 2019, @03:48PM

    by vux984 (5045) on Friday August 30 2019, @03:48PM (#887793)

    Its as male as Luke Skywalker, who is also a fictional character.

    Luke Skywalker is a fictional human man. I see what you are saying but not sure I really follow the argument. Are you saying because Luke is fictional the proper gender is "it" because being fictional means he's genderless? Or that because Luke is fictional his gender is whatever the author decides it is?

    Bad SN automobile analogies are a big thing around here and I'm pretty good at it

    Yes. That analogy was truly awful. :)