Parenting in the AI Era

“Teen Mode” in ChatGPT: this week OpenAI shared more details about how it plans to implement parental controls (which should be in place by the end of September) and to ensure greater safety on the platform for teens more generally.

While parental controls are a good step, we all know how good teens are at circumventing these, and so I really like the other thing they are incorporating, which is age prediction based on how people are using Chatgpt.

When the system identifies that a user is under 18, they will automatically apply rules to ensure a safer experience. For example, ChatGPT will be trained not to do flirtatious talk if asked, or engage in discussions about suicide of self-harm even in a creative writing setting. And, if an under-18 user is having suicidal ideation, they will attempt to contact the users’ parents and if unable, will contact the authorities in case of imminent harm.

I imagine this might be difficult to get perfect, but when in doubt, the system will “play it safe and default to the under-18 experience.”

I’m encouraged by these steps and hope other chatbots will follow-suit (ahem, Character.ai).

Parenting in the AI Era

Is it real or is it AI? AI-generated videos, images, news, music, and social media are everywhere now. And, they are getting harder and harder to discern from human-generated content. I found this quiz from the New York Times testing our skills at knowing what’s real vs AI to be both fun and eye-opening.

If you’re looking for resources to help you and your family quickly assess whether something is AI generated or not, AIornot.com is helpful in identifying this in images, video, music, and text. Gptzero.me is helpful for text (and something that I think a lot of teachers use).

Hands on with AI

See what you’ll look like in anything, instantly: Google’s new AI image tool is amazing, and one very cool feature is the ability to “try on” anything you come across online. All you have to do is:

1. go to gemini.google.com or open the Gemini app on your phone

2. select “Create images” in the little tools menu

3. Upload a photo of yourself

4. Upload a screenshot of the clothing you want to see yourself in

5. Simply prompt it to “put the clothes that the model is wearing in the screenshot onto the person in the [XX] photo” (it helps to describe the photos to make sure it knows which photo is you and which photo is the model).

(pro tip: fun for trying on halloween costumes!)

Breakthroughs worth sharing

AI is bringing diseased cells back to health: Harvard Medical School just announced PDGrapher, a free AI model that works to restore diseased cells to health. This could be a huge breakthrough for difficult to treat diseases like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and cancer.

According to Harvard, the model can analyze the connections between genes, proteins, and signaling pathways inside cells to identify the best combination of therapies that would restore healthy cell behavior.

Connection Spark ✨

A #SparkTheStory challenge: it’s been a heavy week in America - a lot of emotion and polarization. It’s not easy to know what to do, and it’s perplexing to think how we got here. One observation I have is that as we’ve drifted more inwards and have become less social, it seems that we’ve started to lose curiosity in each other.

We all have such amazing and unique stories - and resulting perspectives and truths that come from those experiences. To start to bridge divides and come together as Americans, we need to get that curiosity back and remind ourselves that everyone has a story.

A compliment and a question: a challenge I’m putting forth to you this week is to #SparkTheStory by sharing a specific compliment with someone and then ask the story behind it.

"That's such a unique laptop sticker - what's the story behind it?"

“You have this calm energy even though it's crazy in here - what's your secret?”

“That’s such a unique name for a dog. How did you come up with that?”

“That tattoo looks meaningful - would you be open to sharing what it represents?”

If you’re nervous, try starting with your kid, partner, or a good friend, and then bravely expand to strangers or acquaintances as you go about your day. Studies show that curiosity-driven questions and attention to personal narratives foster deeper intimacy, empathy, and meaningful social connection, especially across differences.

This is something we need now more than ever, and putting forth a small compliment and a question about it is a lightweight and feel good way to begin. 🙂