Common Sense Media shared a new report that shows how teens are using AI for schoolwork and, as we might expect, it’s not remotely black-and-white. Some key insights:

None of this is likely overly surprising, but helpful data nonetheless. We need to be continually emphasizing the importance of owning the thinking. Here are a few additional things we can do to gear up for back-to-school:

You may or may not have heard of what is referred to as The Singularity, but essentially, in AI terms, it refers to the point in time when artificial intelligence surpasses human intelligence and can autonomously build smarter and smarter versions of itself (and then, in theory, humans can no longer predict what happens). It was popularized by computer scientist Ray Kurzweil, who pegged it to happen around 2045. Well, according to more and more people, we may get there… um… now.

Regardless of whether we are technically there or not, OpenAI announced that it is pausing the training of their upcoming Astra model until they feel they can meet necessary “alignment, security, and monitoring standards.” For a company in a highly competitive environment, deeply in dept, trying to IPO, with a reputation for prioritizing launches over safety, to pause development is eye-opening and, I hate to say it… a bit scary.

One implication of AI models reaching this advanced level when we are not yet prepared for it is- at least in the short term- that cyberattacks of all shapes and forms are guaranteed to accelerate.

Sigh. For those of us just going about our days and not getting much of a say in all this, what the heck are we supposed to think, much less do about it??!!

I truly wish I could tell you. But some thoughtful advice says that at minimum we should:

Every day after school I immediately ask the boys how their day was, and every day I usually get the same answer: "GFS." Translation: "good, for school.

What I've noticed, though, is that I'm almost always asking it while doing something else - helping them into the car, shuffling their backpacks, looking in the rear view mirror, etc. Which is a shame, because that moment of greeting after school is a great (and built-in) opportunity for connection.

Obviously, there are ways to ask about school that aren’t just one-word responses, but for today, I wanted to share an even simpler thing to do in that moment:

Hold the hug longer.

Not metaphorically but actual seconds. Researchers tested one, five, and ten second hugs, and the longer ones were rated meaningfully more pleasant. There's also a well-known study tying frequent hugs to higher oxytocin and lower blood pressure, though that one is women hugging their partners - that said, more hugs can’t hurt!

And for anyone with a kid who has aged out of being hugged in public, a shoulder squeeze and/or a moment of warm eye contact and genuine smiles can make a difference.

OpenAI launched ChatGPT for Teens this week, and it applies automatically to anyone their system thinks is under 18.

It includes stronger built-in safety protections and more features to encourage healthy use and learning including study mode, responsible homework reminders (nudging them to study mode if they appear to be trying to take shortcuts), and study hours where parents can set times when study mode is on by default.

If you have a teen who uses ChatGPT, take a few minutes to link their account to yours and spend a little time understanding the new features and controls.

Separately, and a bit randomly, I came across this delightful in-browser water color simulator. It’s beautiful and soothing.