By India McCarty
AI is everywhere these days, but experts warn against families overusing the technology for parenting advice.
“ChatGPT has become an indispensable tool for parents,” Leah Anise, consumer communications lead at OpenAI, told GMA. “It helps streamline daily responsibilities and spark creativity.”
She’s not alone; a study from OnePoll “found three in 10 parents of under 18s who use AI tools have done so to give advice to their children, while 33 per cent have considered doing so,” per The Sun.
“AI can be a real help to very quickly find answers to questions, or solutions to problems — and for parents who are often subject to lots of questions and problems, this can be a really easy quick fix,” Harry Gove, spokesperson for OnePoll, said.
Related: What Parents Need to Know About AI Safety
However, some experts caution parents against leaning too heavily on the technology for answers.
“It tends to hallucinate,” Yaron Litwin, digital parenting expert and CMO of parental control app Canopy, told Parents. “Parents who lean too much on it for parenting guidance run the risk of adopting parenting styles which may not actually fit their family, or which may be detrimental to children in general.”
Litwin continued, “Any parenting advice should be taken with a grain of salt. If something sounds off, it may very well be. Parents need to exercise their common sense, and not to rely on AI as a cure-all for their parenting issues.”
Parents aren’t the only ones who should avoid leaning on AI for advice. Rachel Wood, PhD, a licensed therapist and expert in the study of the relationship between humans and technology, warned that an over-reliance on the tech can slowly erode one’s critical thinking and decision-making skills.
“If a child, or anyone, uses AI for advice or to make decisions for them on a regular basis, that could potentially foster dependence and atrophy self-trust and confidence,” she explained.
For parents who want to continue using AI as a parenting tool, it’s important to be aware of the dangers of the tech. For example, approach any health advice with caution, as AI chatbots are not always accurate. It’s also important not to trust AI’s advice on your kids more than you trust your own intuition.
“Parents know the history, the context, and the nuances of their kids,” Wood explained. “AI doesn’t grasp that, and can even give false, misleading, or harmful advice.”
While AI can be helpful when balancing the everyday tasks of parenting, parents shouldn’t rely solely on the technology when it comes to taking care of their kids.
Read Next: AI Agrees With Everything You Say, and That’s a Problem, Especially for Kids
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