As we gear up for the back-to-school season, there's a new "student" joining classrooms everywhere: Artificial Intelligence. Will it replace your kid's teacher? Or even... their Curious Cardinals mentor?!
The answer is a resounding no.
Just as calculators didn't replace math teachers (remember that debate?), AI won't replace educators. Instead, it's poised to be a powerful assistant, enhancing learning experiences in a tech-driven future.
AI is becoming an essential tool in your child's educational toolkit. But it isn't something that you can simply unbox and use. It requires understanding, guidance, and a thoughtful approach. So as we sharpen pencils and update reading lists, it's time to add "AI literacy" to our back-to-school checklist.
Me teaching an AI workshop to a fabulous group of moms in Seattle, hosted by Curious Cardinals mom Negar.
Step 1. Create an account on Claude.ai. You can also use ChatGPT, but for the data privacy conscious, I always recommend Claude first (reply if you want to know more!). Hold yourself accountable to play around with it for 10 minutes a day for 30 days. I'm serious. It takes time and commitment to form a habit, so lay yourself a solid foundation for understanding and integrating this technology into your life.
Step 2. Every day, treat Claude like your personal sidekick. Ask for help with tasks you need assistance with: specific meal plans, household budgets, smart replies to that email you’ve been putting off... discuss any of your problems and brainstorm solutions together. Ask questions about topics you're curious about.
Step 3. Give Claude ultra-specific feedback to teach it your preferences. Try prompting it differently if you're not happy with the answer. Like a new assistant on their first day, AI requires coaching to improve, and with your feedback, it will.
Step 4. Rinse and repeat until you start to get the hang of it, and feel the productivity skyrocket.
Listen, I was case zero for the generation that social media took by storm and severely impacted. Mental health issues, screen addiction... the statistics in Jonathan Haidt's "The Anxious Generation" were my reality.
We learned from this era that when parents turn a blind eye and say, "We're tech dinosaurs, we don't need to understand this," it hurts our kids and our ability to be trusted sources of wisdom and advice.
To ensure you can engage your kid thoughtfully and prepare them for an unprecedented rate of change, you need to learn new concepts and lead by example. Just as you and your friends may differ on social media policies and boundaries, how you permit your kid to use (or not use) AI is a highly personal, values-based decision.
But your ignorance benefits no one, especially not your kid.
Johno, Curious Cardinals Community leader, Stanford grad, and AI workshop co-teacher, helping moms with prompt engineering at another workshop.
I've taught 40+ intro to AI workshops to parents around the world. This fall, Curious Cardinals will also be working with a school to teach AI to their faculty, parents, and entire middle school, as well as help write their AI policy.
I will be posting my own AI tips and tricks to my Instagram in the coming weeks; as you’re experimenting with Claude, have it help draft an email full of questions for me, and I’ll do my best to cover them for you.
Selfie time! Another AI workshop, hosted by Curious Cardinals mom Karen, featuring Johno and myself, the AI teachers!
Phew, that was a lot, huh? Anyway, would your student be interested in joining me (and my co-founder Alec) next week to chat about their high school game plan? This live workshop is aimed at rising 7th to 11th graders, but parents are more than welcome to join too.
Thanks for reading, and happy end-of-summer!
Audrey Wisch, CEO & co-founder, on behalf of the Curious Cardinals team