Artificial Intelligence (AI) is no longer just the stuff of science fiction. It’s in the classroom, phones — and even the apps our kids use to learn. As AI becomes a bigger part of everyday life, parents are faced with a new challenge: understanding what AI is, what it does, and how to help teens use it safely and responsibly.
Understanding AI Basics
There are two main kinds of AI that people interact with every day: traditional AI and generative AI.
Traditional AI has been around longer and is great at recognizing patterns, making predictions, and helping us make decisions. It doesn’t create new things, it simply learns from existing data to complete a task. For example, when Google Maps finds the fastest route, or when Netflix suggests what to watch next, that’s traditional AI at work. Voice assistants like Siri or Alexa also use traditional AI to understand and respond to commands.
Generative AI, on the other hand, is newer and focuses on creating original content. It can write stories, create graphics, compose music, or even generate voices and videos. Apps like ChatGPT, which can help write stories or essays, or DALL·E, which can turn words into pictures, are examples of generative AI. It’s like having a robot that doesn’t just follow instructions — it comes up with new ideas on its own. This is the type of AI we’ll be focusing on for this article, since there are more pros and cons involved.
The Good: Opportunities to Learn and Create
AI can be an incredible tool for learning. Personalized learning platforms like Khan Academy’s AI-powered tutor, Khanmigo, adapt lessons to a student’s pace. Language-learning apps like Duolingo use AI to keep kids motivated and on track. For children with learning differences or disabilities, AI can offer tailored support that helps close educational gaps.
According to Common Sense Media’s (commonsensemedia.org) “Parents’ Ultimate Guide to Generative AI,” the technology can make learning more accessible by offering quick explanations, language translations, and brainstorming ideas when students need extra help. “These tools can be especially useful for kids who may not have access to one-on-one tutoring or additional resources,” the guide states.
AI also opens doors for creativity. Kids can use AI to make music, write stories or generate artwork with tools like Canva, ChatGPT or Google’s Gemini.
“Kids can use it to inspire new ideas, outline projects, or ask creative questions to spark their imagination and help them refine their own work,” Common Sense Media’s guide states. “For example, they can ask AI to suggest plot ideas for a story or ways to improve their artwork, which can get the creative juices flowing.”
For students with special needs, AI can offer personalized, flexible assistance in ways that traditional tools often can’t. For example, a student with dyslexia can use AI to read text aloud, summarize complex material or rephrase it using simpler language. For students with attention or executive function challenges, AI can break tasks into steps, provide reminders, or help keep them focused with customized prompts and encouragement.
The Bad: Privacy and Plagiarism Concerns
While AI has many benefits, it also comes with challenges that parents should be aware of. One major concern is misinformation.
“These tools have been trained on unreliable sources and user-generated content from across the internet, including forums like Reddit, which aren’t fact-checked or made for kids,” according to Common Sense Media. “It’s important to teach them that AI can easily provide wrong answers, biased info, or even inappropriate content.”
Educational apps and tools like ChatGPT and Gemini collect data, and kids might not know what’s safe to share and what isn’t. Anything users submit can become a permanent part of the system’s data, so be sure your kids avoid entering personal information like names, addresses or photos. Common Sense Media advises parents to set any available privacy controls on AI tools, and monitor your kid’s usage.
Other serious issues that go hand-in-hand are over-reliance and academic dishonesty. When students start using AI to write essays or solve math problems without understanding the work, it can hurt their critical thinking skills — and hurt their grades, or worse, if they get caught for plagiarism. Common forms of AI-generated plagiarism include: a student feeding a prompt into an app and submitting the generated text as their own; and using AI to reword online sources or previous student work so that it looks original.
While students may think this is the way to an easy A, teachers can usually spot the plagiarism — with or without the use of AI output detectors or plagiarism scanners. Teachers notice sudden leaps in writing level or style, or detail that doesn’t match a student’s previous work. They can also request drafts or outlines to see if a student developed the work over time, compared to the instant work of an AI essay.
What Parents Can Do
You don’t need to be a tech expert to guide your child through the AI age. Start by having open conversations and ask your teens what apps they use and how they think those tools work.
Just as you might limit screen time or monitor social media use, it helps to establish clear expectations for AI. Decide together when it’s OK to use AI (for homework help, brainstorming or creative hobbies) and when it isn’t (like writing essays word-for-word). Show your kids how you use AI in everyday life, whether it’s drafting a recipe-based grocery list or brainstorming ideas for a family trip — and explain how it should be used as a tool, not a crutch.
Whenever possible, engage with AI together. Try out a creative AI tool as a family.
“Think of it like practicing driving before getting a license,” says Common Sense Media. “Help your kids safely navigate the roads of these tools by learning how generative AI can be used for things like homework, creative projects, or just for fun.”
Encourage kids of any age to double-check anything they get from AI by verifying answers in textbooks or on reliable websites.
By setting boundaries, encouraging open dialogue and modeling smart use, we can teach our children how to engage with AI thoughtfully and responsibly.
