Artificial Intelligence and Young Children: Dream or Nightmare?

As I sat beside Petite Clothilde, our dreaming wooden Fellow, a few weeks ago, I found myself wondering about young children and artificial intelligence (AI). I am so glad one of our followers encouraged me to explore the topic. So—AI: what might our inner child make of it?

Full disclosure, I am a Gen Xer who grew up in France—before cell phones, before computers. I still remember the summer a family friend, a professor, brought home a small, portable Macintosh. We were fascinated and a bit skeptical. How little we knew.

Fast forward to today, and I find myself fascinated once again, this time by AI. As someone who is still discovering this new frontier, I am both curious and cautious. Spending time daily with the wooden Fellows, and Petite Clothilde in particular, my inner child is always in view. With her by my side, I want to dream about AI before I worry.

What is Artificial Intelligence, Really?

What is AI, exactly? I quickly realized I did not have a clear answer.

After reviewing multiple definitions from various sources, I was pleased with a definition from IBM, which clearly highlights the ultimate goal: to simulate human abilities.

“A technology that enables computers and machines to simulate human learning, comprehension, problem solving, decision making, creativity and autonomy.” — IBM

Of course, technologies that mimic human behavior are not entirely new. From the early computers in the 1950s, a helpful timeline from IBM illustrates well how we have been on this path for a while:

• In the 1950s: AI was born, i.e., “human intelligence exhibited by machines.”
• In the 1980s: Machine Learning emerged, allowing systems to “learn from historical data.”
• In the 2010s: Deep Learning took it further, to “mimic human brain function.”
• In the 2020s: Generative AI can create “original content”—text, images, even videos.

In other words, generative AI is truly the era everyone is talking about. On platforms like ChatGPT, you can type in a question or prompt, and it can generate answers, stories, summaries, and more. It’s quite something—and we are still only at the beginning. Generative AI can learn.

AI and Young Children: A Dream or a Nightmare?

So what may happen when generative AI meets the most malleable among us—young children? To help frame our reflections, I selected a few thoughtful resources:

Harvard EdCast reviewing the potential effects of AI on child development

UNICEF’s report on children and AI, inviting us to embrace a bigger picture, reviewing pros and cons at the society level

UK Parliament briefing on AI and education, as an example of society reflecting on AI’s impact on children’s learning

Zero to Three, highlighting AI’s potential benefits, with the example of neurodivergent children

Here are some key points Petite Clothilde and I thought we should elevate to guide your own reflection:

• Young children grow within nested circles of influence (Bronfenbrenner framework). Because AI has the potential to improve society, AI can, hence, improve children’s lives, indirectly. UNICEF points to better health data analysis, more thoughtful urban planning, and improvements in agriculture. If utilized effectively, these innovations could foster healthier and more equitable environments for children. In other words, when reflecting on AI and young children, it is essential to consider the broader perspective.
  
• We know from decades of research that young children learn through social interactions. What happens when screens or AI voices mediate those early social cues? Will AI encourage young children to say “please” and “thank you”? And will children understand why that matters? Will AI differentiate their answers when young children use AI to learn about a new topic, vs to bypass learning by simply asking for answers to homework? Warn a nearby adult when a question is inappropriate?
  
• Daily reading is a good example to reflect on AI. Research shows that daily reading with a child has immense benefits for both cognitive and social-emotional development. AI can read books, and even, when trained well, ask engaging follow-up questions. But should it? Reading aloud is more than literacy—it is about connecting and bonding as well. It is about hearing a loved one’s voice, being asked “Why do you think that happened?” and being invited to wonder. Should we train AI to do that? Or should we guide adults to rediscover this joy?

  

  
  
• Some children may benefit from AI’s adaptability—personalized learning tools for neurodivergent children, or support overcoming language barriers—when carefully designed with children’s real needs and dignity in mind.
  
• Just as we teach children not to believe everything, we must help them understand AI. AI is a tool—a very powerful one—but it is not magic, not a friend, not a parent. The goal is not to bypass learning, but to deepen it. To help them understand AI, though, we must understand it ourselves. If you have never used ChatGPT, you may want to give it a try.
  
• We still have much to learn about how AI affects attention, memory, and sleep. And of course, privacy is a concern, especially for children who cannot yet consent or understand how their data is used. As young adults begin to realize that much of their childhood was posted online by their parents, what will be the experience of today’s young children when they reach adulthood, and discover how much they shared with AI when they were younger?
  
• The UK briefing is an example of how, as a society, we can , we should, all reflect on AI, and address concerns as they emerge. For instance, companies like Amazon introduced a polite mode for Alexa, addressing worries about the lack of politeness required for AI agents answering questions.
  

Final Thoughts

As with anything else, the key question as we reflect on AI is 

What do we value in early childhood?

Do we rock an upset infant, or do we offer an automatic rocking chair? Do we talk to them at dinner, or hand them an iPad because we are just too exhausted to interact? What are the critical skills and values young children should be exposed to?

These are not questions of guilt, but of awareness. Parenting is hard, and we all have to find our own ways to go through. The more we know about child development and AI, the more we can make informed, loving choices as parents, as early childhood professionals, and as a society at large.

AI is not going away, and like any tool, it can be used wisely or not. In early childhood, the stakes are exceptionally high. Children need connection, play, conversation, and a sense of safety. They also need opportunities to develop critical thinking and, in an era of instantaneity, patience. If AI is to be part of their world, we must shape it with care, not convenience. We must find a balance.

So, dream or nightmare? Maybe both, and mostly, it depends on us, and how we embrace AI across generations.

Let’s keep the conversation going, with Petite Clothilde, and Bop, in our mind : )