Hi there,

When my son was 8, he filmed a scene in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3. As part of that, the studio walked him into a room lined with 360 cameras. “We’ll use these shots to move him around in other scenes,” they explained. At the time, I thought it was such cool tech!

Only later did I realize what it meant, an 8-year-old version of my child now exists in Marvel’s system, available for reuse in any future production. Indefinitely.

By the time he filmed Superman last year, I knew better. I declined.

That moment changed how I see AI and kids. It’s not some distant, futuristic debate. It’s already here, shaping our children’s worlds before we even know what’s happening. 

Should Parents Be Worried?

The honest answer is yes, but not for the reasons you might think.

Most parents I know fall into two camps: tech-savvy parents who work in fields already disrupted by AI, and everyone else who has no idea how rapidly things are changing. The gap between these groups is massive, and it's leaving too many families unprepared.

The job market fears are real, too. I've heard estimates that AI could eliminate 92% of current jobs, leaving mostly trades like plumbing. 

This creates a strange contradiction, we're still encouraging kids toward expensive college degrees while wondering if those careers will exist in 10 years. 

How might humans and AI evolve together in the next decade?

The Obvious 🚩

Some AI risks are clear dangers every parent should know about:

1. Emotional manipulation through AI relationships: There are now AI chatbots designed to simulate romantic and sexual relationships, accessible to anyone, including 12-year-olds. These platforms have no age verification and kids can develop parasocial relationships with AI entities that always agree with them, always compliment them, and never challenge them.

Ani and Bad Rudy, the controversial companions of Grok represent Elon Musk’s latest eccentricity 

2. Image and voice theft: Deepfakes are now indistinguishable from reality. Any photo of your child can be manipulated into inappropriate content. Any video can be altered.

PS: 25 of the best deepfake examples that terrified and amused the internet. 

3. Reality distortion: AI filters make kids look "perfect" instantly, fueling impossible beauty standards. Meanwhile, AI-generated content is so realistic that adults struggle to identify fake news. Just imagine the impact on developing minds.  

 Let’s Talk Defense! 

1. Create Digital Boundaries That Actually Work

• Make meals, bedtime, and weekend mornings completely device-free.

   

• Consider alternatives like GPS watches or bark phones for safety without full internet access. The "no phones before 8th grade" movement is gaining momentum for good reason.

• Connect with other parents to establish shared standards. When multiple families agree on the same app restrictions or device timing, kids feel less isolated by the rules. 

2. Audit Your Child's Digital Environment

• Sit with your child and scroll through their feeds together. Ask "Why do you follow this account?" and "How does this content make you feel?" Understanding their digital diet is as important as knowing what they eat. 

• Most platforms change their settings frequently. What was private last month might be public now. Keep a tab! How to set up your child's first smartphone (and keep them safe online) 

• Help kids understand both the benefits and risks of AI tools they're already using. Instead of blanket bans, teach critical evaluation:   

  • When does it prevent actual learning?

  • When is it helpful to use AI assistance?

  • What are the long-term consequences of AI dependence? 

3. Build Real-World Connections

• Organize screen-free playdates, family game nights, and collaborative activities that foster human interaction and problem-solving skills.

• Encourage activities that can't be AI-assisted. Sports, music, hands-on crafts, and outdoor exploration build skills that AI can't replicate.

• Kids learn more from watching us than from our rules. Show them how to use technology intentionally rather than compulsively.

 The Upsides 

I don’t think the answer is to ban AI altogether.

In some ways, it’s already helping kids manage the kind of pressure we never had at their age. A tool that explains a math problem step by step or breaks down a long reading can take the edge off a workload that often feels endless. For kids who freeze at a blank page, an AI draft isn’t the end of learning, it’s the start of it.

The key for us as parents is making sure AI lightens the load without taking away the struggle that builds confidence and critical thinking. Our kids can lean on AI for support, but they don’t have to outsource their thinking, or their ability to make decisions. 

That’s all for today’s issue, parents! 💗 

Inside the Laid-back Parent’s Internet History this week: 

🔖 READ:  How to spot AI-generated content and teach kids the same skills?

🔖 READ: Family contract templates for healthy technology use

🔖 READ: Age-appropriate conversations about digital consent and privacy

Note for My Fellow -Back Parents 📧

We're raising the first generation of true digital natives in an AI world. They'll figure out capabilities we can't imagine. 

Our job isn't to predict their future but to give them the emotional intelligence, critical thinking skills, and human connections they'll need to navigate whatever comes next. 

All the best!  

Lakshmi 💛