Just as there’s not a singular type of Artificial Intelligence, there is not a singular type of human. While I’ll explore the many intersections of human diversity in a later series, today I’m going back to basics and my own diverse identity as a parent and as a leader in technology and AI. Neither of these identities exists in a vacuum, and they each inform the other.

As a business leader, I work on leading the enterprise world towards a safe bright future with AI and as a mom, I focus that same energy on preparing my children for success and joy in this new AI world. We may view the next generation of humans as the very first AI-native generation. As predecessors of that experience, how do we create and direct enriching activities as parents to prepare our children to get ahead in a future that we can only imagine? Today’s parents are challenged to blend the power of today’s latest tech and a legacy of experiences.

Contemporary externalities include reactive panic around artificial intelligence. Let’s address that first because it’s necessary to move past the fear to find the potential. If your child is learning how to drive, would you expect them to map out the journey with a road map before they ever got on the road instead of using GPS? How about doing advanced math without a calculator? Maybe writing a term paper without the internet? AI is just the newest tool children can use to advance their skills.

That said, caution, not ignorance is the best way to manage fear. Exploration and adoption of new technology should be intentional not incidental. Mindful, not mindless. Just like every parent, I too worry about children’s unfiltered use of social media where embedded AI is often learning the lowest common denominator from the crowd rather than raising consciousness.

One of the crucial things parents can do to help their children use AI safely is to make sure they understand how AI works. And also, educate them on the risks of using any AI tool and how to use it responsibly.

Today’s AI can help children complete their homework assignments faster, write essays, and quickly create code. Parents need to ensure that their child understands that the same AI may provide false answers, create completely inappropriate content, write incomplete code and depending on school policy, any of this could be considered as cheating on homework.

Fresh approaches to bringing AI into your family activities are built on ancient core skills of critical thinking and creativity. Humans are best served when we can think and deduce for ourselves. A focus on the humanities helps kids develop a strong sense of self and counter the power of boredom and lure of mindless technology consumption. You can foster your entire family’s creativity while learning new technology together with the plethora of AI tools.

As parents we can provide guided and mindful AI play opportunities where kids can create new material with the numerous AI tools available today. Creating unique family video stories, an entirely new animation character, programming robots, launching a brand-new online game with friends, exploring new forms of arts and crafts are all playtime activities that can help children learn AI while having fun!

Balance it with family fun in nature with friends – climb mountains and trees and rocks, swim in the oceans and lakes, visit all the national and state parks, camp or glamp in a remote location free of digital tools every once in a while. Create opportunities for your children to appreciate and enjoy our glorious planet and space. Moving seamlessly between our physical and virtual worlds will be an even more crucial skill in the AI-powered future.

And round it out with sports. The lessons that sports teach are well known – compassion, patience, respect, commitment, responsibility, integrity, self-discipline, teamwork, handling failure, resilience, time management and so many more. These skills will help our children thrive as adults in the AI era, irrespective of whether they excel at the sport or not!

The traditional parenting advice still stands true in the age of AI - Continue to encourage them to read books, explore new places, play a musical instrument or two, appreciate paintings and sculptures. And above all, be a good AI role model by balancing your own screen engagement with other activities.

Irrespective of whether we like it or not as a parent, AI is in our children’s lives today and its here to stay. As parents, let's make sure our children are well equipped to succeed in the era of AI!