When I was a child, there was a locked cupboard in my living room where the sweets that were intended for "guests" were kept, the key to the cupboard was hidden from us, potential gluttons. This was 'Parental Control'. Except it didn't help, I always knew where the key was hidden (and I don't even like sweets). The temptations today are much more sophisticated, as are the controls. Artificial intelligence will raise the level of sophistication. So what about the parents?
At a certain age the sentence ‘the teacher said’ is wrapped in an aura of holiness. The aura fades with age and is replaced by ‘but why is Nathan allowed?’ Imagine that the student would have an all-knowing entity, always available, that knows him well, and is able to give wise and personal advice, answers and clarifications. The aura of this entity will not fade and parents will not have a good response.
Already today, AI algorithms are embedded in applications in the student’s environment such as Tik-Tok, Instagram or Fortnite, whose main function is to make the user spend more hours in front of the screen. This trend of integrating AI components will increase and the student will have applications with which he/she can consult on any topic, ‘How to convince the parents to go on a trip to Eilat alone’, ‘How to start with Adi from the 8th grade’, ‘Who was Caligula’. These applications will give the student social, emotional and psychological support, and the student will be able to use them in learning of any subject – from Spanish to preparing an atomic reactor in a warehouse, and there will of course be other applications that my imagination is short of inventing. Some of them will be enriching, smart, and useful and some of them will be addictive, violent and harmful. The more the student uses them, the better they will get to know him/her and his/her surroundings and the quality of the answer will better suit the needs of the boy/girl who will use them more and more. We may find that the youth would prefer to spend time in their company, talk to them and listen to them.
The technical tools that parents have, such as parental control or limiting computer time, are getting weaker and weaker today and will be even less effective as the sophistication of technology increases. Since, in my estimation, artificial intelligence will reach a state where it will become inevitable (see – ‘AI – an inevitable technology’) we must prepare for a situation where it will be present in the teenager’s life all the time.
If so, what do we do? I could advise: set a personal example, stay technologically up-to-date with an open mind to changes, be flexible, share, etc. All this advice is true (and will be true in the future as well) but it doesn’t really help the embarrassed parent. What may help is a new and powerful tool that parents will have in the future – artificial intelligence 
. As an ancient Chinese sage already said ‘it is advisable in battle to use the strength of the opponent’.
I asked ChatGPT, “I am the father of a 13-year-old boy, how to prepare for the age of artificial intelligence?”, “Should we prevent him spending too much screen time?”, “What is a reasonable limit?”, “What sanctions to apply?”, “What to do if he does not listen?”, “Are there any apps I should use?”… In all of them the answers were logical and practical, albeit general. The answers are general because the system does not know me. In my opinion, the more we use the technology, the better it will get in knowing us, our children and our relationships, the answers will be more specific and more appropriate for our individual child. (See also “AI – about privacy”)
If that sounds like Baron Munchausen lifting himself out of the swamp by pulling the top of his head, you’re right, except in this case the pulling arm can be attached to a powerful lever.
HE