As the end of Trinity term approached, we were joined by Reuben’s own Dr Andrew Serazin (Senior Research Fellow and Director of the Global Challenges Programme) for our Tuesday Talk. Dr Serazin introduced us to the programme’s Generation AI Initiative, beginning with a reflection on changes in technology to date and how we interact with it during our own lives.
We’ve seen the experience of calling a friend on a landline phone fade away and be replaced by new ways of interacting through mobile phones. In a similar way, we’ll see technologies continue to evolve and the way we live adapt to this, particularly as a new generation are raised with emerging AI technologies.
A shifting childhood experience
The challenges this presents are wide-ranging, representing an intersection of technological and social issues. As technology changes, so does the experience of being young; we’re already seeing the effects, such as the impact of social media use on youth mental health.
We can also observe current impacts as the applications of these technologies grow. For example, it’s thought that at least 50% of children are now using some kind of artificial intelligence tool for schoolwork, so they’re clearly interacting with AI. But, as children grow and develop in a social context, the impact of these interactions on development remains to be seen.
The important questions
We need to ask:
- Will this have long-term impacts on attention? On the ability to reason critically? On the ability to interpret interactions?
- Or is this just another in a long line of moral panics in response to new technologies? Just like the concern for the atrophy of minds and memory due to the development of techniques for writing rather than oral history?
There is little disagreement that a generation of children is growing up with these technologies, and that we must account for their safety and development. However, practical issues such as legislation and commercial incentives make this a difficult topic to tackle.
The Global Challenges Programme has been leading initiatives to encourage discussion and engagement across disciplines to investigate this. This has included the development of ‘ethical design’ principles, which have a goal of optimising for positive societal impact, rather than strict technical and business metrics. This offers a potential way forward: a set of guidelines for the design of systems which accounts for the needs of children.
Discussion
We finished with a discussion which further highlighted the wide-reaching implications of trying to grapple with issues like these.
‘Where does the responsibility lie for the consequences of these technologies?’
‘How can we direct these systems in a positive direction?’
‘How much direction is possible or even desirable?’
The level of engagement and lively discussion just underlined how important these conversations are. We also touched on where the Global Challenges Programme will go from here.
It’s exciting to get an insight into how issues linked with the Generation AI programme can start to be addressed, along with what other areas may be considered in the future.
