This week OpenAI launched GPT-Live, a new voice mode for ChatGPT designed to interact with us just as if we were talking to a human friend. It listens and speaks at the same time, handles interruptions, pauses when you're thinking, and murmurs "mhmm" and "got it" while you talk. I tried it, and I’ll admit, I was impressed by the way it conversed with me - but also, I found myself oddly annoyed with it after awhile - like, it was playing mind tricks with me by trying TOO hard to sound exactly human. Do we really need/want AIs to sound and converse with us exactly like we do with each other?? 🤔

I am also sharing this to get it on your radar as it relates to our kids. Given that this is now the default voice mode for all of ChatGPT - and we are already seeing the spike and risks of AI companionship with young people - it’s worth making sure you emphasize (often) that "AIs like ChatGPT are tools that predict what they think you want to hear and are very good at sounding like a friend. It is not a friend."

It turns out, dramatic or broad digital detoxes or social media/screen bans don’t reliably work. They're hard to sustain, they invite rebellion, and when the phones come back, the benefits usually fade.

Australia’s social media ban, which has now been in effect for 6 months, isn’t yet seeming to have the positive impact that was hoped for. A recent study shows that 85% of tweens/teens in Australia under 16 continue to use restricted social media platforms - partly due to the fact that the tech companies have conveniently failed to put the right checkpoints in place, and even when they do, tweens and teens are savvy enough to easily find workarounds.

There’s also, perhaps, something to the framing: “ban” (or also detox) implies all or nothing and feels too extreme - especially when it comes to tech, which is impossible to completely ignore in today’s world.

What DOES seem to work a lot better, according to Dr. Jacqueline Nesi, author of the Technosapiens substack, are "scalpel" interventions: small, targeted changes aimed at the specific thing causing the specific problem. For example, phone-free bedrooms to protect sleep, removing one problem app instead of all of them, turning off nonessential notifications, and phone-free dinners.

Here’s another example I heard of recently from her: unfollowing a small number of highly polarizing accounts (and following more uplifting/educational accounts) reduced partisan hostility and increased positive emotion - especially awe - with effects lasting up to 6 months. Just think of the wonderful impact if we could convince everyone in America to do this! For now, maybe just try it for yourself, and if you find it feels better, tell your friends to try it too.

My thoughts: This lifts a weight of my chest…. I don't have to bury the tablets in the backyard and deal with all hell breaking loose. I/we can pick the one or two screen habits that are actually causing issues, and make a specific change or two. Scalpel interventions ftw!

This past week we crossed the midpoint of the year. And while New Year's gets all the reflection energy, July might be even better suited for it: everyone's more relaxed, there's no pressure to reinvent yourself, and there's still enough year left to steer and adjust.

So this week, try a 10-minute "family halftime" at dinner. You can do it any way you’d like, but here are a few questions to get you started:

No pressure to set big goals or a plan, you're just noticing and sharing together. You may also want to go for a walk and do this just for yourself, too!

We’ve reached the point of summer where, at least in our house, the activities are starting to wind down a bit and the kids are finding themselves with more free time (and a little more, ahem, restless).

This makes it a great time to create a summer reading list and then take a fun field trip to the local library. But, I always feel stuck/hesitant about which books to suggest for my kids (and myself!).

AI is a great tool for this. Try a version of this prompt in Claude Cowork:

Pro Tip: have Claude Cowork design it as a web app that generates interactive/personalized reading lists for each person in your family that you can easily toggle between.