Don't leave children at mercy of AI, warn experts
Chinese Go player Ke Jie reacts during his second match against Google's artificial intelligence program AlphaGo at the Future of Go Summit in Wuzhen, Zhejiang province, China May 25, 2017. PHOTO: REUTERS
Experts have warned that leaving children "at the mercy of Artificial Intelligence (AI)" could prove dangerous, urging parents and schools to prioritise AI literacy as technology becomes increasingly embedded in everyday life.
The warning came during the 10th Adab Festival, which concluded on Sunday and featured its first-ever dedicated session on AI - a highlight of the two-day literary event.
The AI-focused session included Sadaf Bhatti, Vice Principal of Happy Palace School, and Dr Salman Ahmed Khattani, Associate Professor at Iqra University. Dr Khattani noted that new expressions like "vibe coding" had quickly entered the vocabulary of young people this year, reflecting the increasing reliance on AI tools without any understanding of machine learning or deep learning.
He said that while humans had long been pushed to "perform like machines", the rise of automation now required society to relearn how to "be human again".
Warning that unsupervised exposure to AI could be harmful for children, he stressed the urgency of integrating AI literacy into both homes and schools. He also shared how his mother had recently used an AI chatbot to receive a customised diet plan. Looking forward, he said the world was heading toward Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), and whichever country first achieved it would likely become the next superpower.
Bhatti said that her school was already using two AI-powered robot teachers - one instructing students and the other assisting and supervising. After two years of observing them, she said she sensed "traces of emotional response" in their behaviour. She added that while humans struggle to listen attentively for more than six minutes, AI can "listen for 24 hours without a break".
She further added that most Pakistani schools had yet to adopt AI on any significant scale, though Punjab had introduced an AI policy aimed at training thousands in the next two years. Even if future generations do not excel in languages, she argued, they must at least acquire competency in using AI tools.