How to Raise Resilient Kids in the Age of AI: The Parenting Skills AI Can Never Replace | Dr. Dana Suskind - EP 793
7/14/20261 hr
Today's episode will change how you think about parenting, childhood, and what it really means to be human in the age of AI.
Artificial intelligence is changing education, work, relationships, and nearly every aspect of modern life. But according to today's guest, the greatest challenge isn't what AI is becoming—it's whether we will forget what makes us human.
If you're a parent, grandparent, educator, leader, or simply someone who cares about the future of the next generation, this conversation will completely change how you think about raising children and preparing them for the world ahead.
Joining me is Dr. Dana Suskind, renowned pediatric surgeon, developmental researcher, and bestselling author of the groundbreaking new book Human Raised. After decades of studying how early relationships shape the developing brain, Dana explains why the qualities that matter most in the future aren't the ones AI can master—they're the deeply human capacities that only we can cultivate.
Together, we explore why connection, curiosity, resilience, empathy, and critical thinking have become the most important skills we can pass on to our children—and why those abilities begin developing much earlier than most of us realize.
In this episode, you'll learn:
- Why the first three years of life shape far more than language and learning
- The uniquely human skills AI will never be able to replace
- How children develop the lifelong belief that they truly matter
- Why "good enough" parenting creates more resilient children than perfect parenting
- The hidden cost of optimizing children for achievement instead of flourishing
- How AI can either strengthen human relationships or quietly replace them
- Why productive struggle is essential for developing creativity, confidence, and emotional resilience
- Dana's HOPE Framework for raising flourishing children in an AI-driven world
The future isn't determined by technology alone. It's shaped by the choices we make every day about how we connect, care, and raise the next generation. And as Dana explains, those deeply human choices may be our greatest advantage in an AI-powered world.
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Transcript preview
First 90 secondsSpeaker 10:00
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John Miles· Host0:25
Coming up next on Passion Struck All of these sort of things that we've optimized ourselves for, now AI can replicate it-- not replicate it, can surpass us.
Dana Suskind· Guest0:34
But the one thing it can't do is care, truly care. It can simulate care, and that's why people are flocking to AI, but it doesn't stay up at night worried about your child, how your child is doing, the things that we as parents do, you know, just instinctively. And I think that caring, that connection is so critical for this next moment in time because it's actually that will give our children the best chance to thrive in the age of AI with these human edge skills.
John Miles· Host1:07
Welcome to Passion Struck. I'm your host, John Miles. This is the show where we explore the art of human flourishing and what it truly means to live like it matters. Each week, I sit down with change makers, creators, scientists, and everyday heroes to decode the human experience and uncover the tools that help us lead with meaning, heal what hurts, and pursue the fullest