How to raise kids who question AI | Randi Williams

Elise Hu· Host0:00

[gentle music] You're listening to TED Talks Daily, where we bring you new ideas to spark your curiosity every day. I'm your host, Elise Hu. AI education researcher Randi Williams has spent years studying how kids interact with smart toys, and what she's found should make every parent stop and think.

Randi Williams· Guest0:21

What happens when technology becomes a black box and we stop being able to see what's going on inside? We've hidden the machine behind frictionless interfaces, beneath friendly voices, and inside children's toys.

Elise Hu· Host0:36

Randi's research shows that kids aren't just using these devices, they're forming genuine emotional bonds with them, often trusting them more than they trust themselves. Her talk offers solutions for what to do about it.

Randi Williams· Guest0:49

We need to raise a generation of children who know that they are the ones who get to write, and even rewrite, the rules of AI. What children need is a model of what it means to be a curious user of AI. They need someone who will sit down with them, explore the machine, poke at its limits, challenge its responses, and most importantly, dare to rewrite its rules.

Elise Hu· Host1:12

The approach involves a Lego robot, a game of rock, paper, scissors, and a little well-placed sabotage. Stick around after the talk. We've got both a brief Q&A between TED podcast host Chris Duffy and Randi, and a Curator's Corner segment with TED's Chloe Szaszap-Brooks, who shares a few more