How are your kids using AI

WELCOME BACK. WITH SCHOOL OUT AND SCREEN TIME OFTEN INCREASING DURING THE SUMMER, EXPERTS SAY PARENTS REALLY NEED TO PAY CLOSER ATTENTION TO HOW CHILDREN AND TEENS ARE USING AI. JOINING ME NOW IS DOCTOR STEVE OKANO, THE DIRECTOR OF BOYS TOWN SOUTH FLORIDA OUTPATIENT BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CLINIC. I’M A MOM OF TWO, AN EIGHT YEAR OLD. SO I KNOW ABOUT THIS VERY MUCH. SO WHEN IT COMES TO HONESTLY, YES, SCREEN TIME. BUT NOW MY MY DAUGHTER IS LEARNING ABOUT AI AND WANTING TO EXPLORE AI. IT USED TO BE ASK ALEXA. NOW SHE’LL SAY, JUST ASK AI. SO IT IS, IT’S IN THEIR LIFE AND IT’S HERE TO STAY. YES, YES, I HAVE TWO MYSELF AND WE’VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THE SAME STUFF YOU HAVE. AND SO WHAT DO WE DO AS PARENTS? DO WE TRY TO AVOID IT AS LONG AS WE CAN, OR DO WE ALLOW THEM TO UNDERSTAND IT AND LEARN FROM IT? THAT IS A GREAT QUESTION, AND TEACHING. AND I WOULD SAY AT BOYS TOWN AND MYSELF, MY PERSPECTIVE, I SEE PARENTS AS TEACHERS. AND SO WE NEED TO BE TEACHING THEM ABOUT THIS AND TEACHING THEM HOW TO USE IT PROPERLY TO KNOW THE BENEFITS THAT COULD COME FROM IT, THE RISKS THAT COULD COME FROM IT, AND HOW TO INCORPORATE IT INTO YOUR FAMILY I SUPPOSE FOR MY GENERATION, IT WAS KIND OF HOW WE LEARNED ABOUT THE INTERNET. SURE. USING IT FOR, YOU KNOW, PROJECTS OR SCHOOL OR WHATEVER. BUT ALSO KNOWING IT MAY NOT ALWAYS BE 100% ACCURATE. THAT IS A GREAT ALLEGORY ALLEGORY FOR IT. AND SIMILARLY TO HOW YOU COULDN’T ALWAYS TRUST AND YOU STILL CAN’T ALWAYS TRUST WHAT YOU SEE IN THE INTERNET. NOW WE KNOW TO BE A LITTLE BIT MORE SKEPTICAL ABOUT IT. I THINK YOUNGER PEOPLE DEFINITELY NEED TO KEEP THAT IN MIND, AND WE NEED TO BE TEACHING THEM ABOUT THAT. I THINK IF YOU THINK ABOUT WHAT GOOD TEACHERS DO, THEY GIVE YOU EXPERIENCES, THEY TALK ABOUT THINGS AND SORT OF A NON-JUDGMENTAL WAY. AND I WOULD ENCOURAGE PARENTS TO THINK OF IT THAT WAY. SO FOR EXAMPLE, IF A KID IS VERY INTO SOMETHING, LET’S SAY POKEMON. YOU COULD HAVE THEM ENGAGE WITH THE AI AND ASK IT VERY DIFFICULT QUESTIONS ABOUT POKEMON. AND I WOULD BET THAT MOST LIKELY IT WILL GET A LOT OF THE IT WILL BE A LITTLE OFF AND THEY WILL NOTICE THAT. OH, OKAY. SO THAT WAY IT’S A GOOD TEACHING MOMENT. EXACTLY. AND YOU TEACH IT THROUGH A LITTLE BIT OF AN EXPERIENCE. SO WHAT KIND OF AI ARE WE INTRODUCING OUR CHILDREN TO? BECAUSE I DID SAY ALEXA, TECHNICALLY THAT IS AI. BUT YOU KNOW, I’M THINKING I’M USING CONSTANTLY CHATGPT FOR THOSE KINDS OF SERVICES. SO WHAT ARE WE GOING. HOW DO I INTRODUCE MY EIGHT YEAR OLD IF SHE’S INTERESTED? I THINK INCREASINGLY AI IS JUST INCORPORATED INTO OUR CULTURE, AND I THINK IT WILL MOST LIKELY CONTINUE TO BE THAT WAY. SO THEY’RE ENGAGING WITH THE AI. WE’VE BEEN ENGAGING WITH AI FOR LONGER THAN YOU THINK. YOU MIGHT NOT JUST THINK ABOUT IT THAT WAY. AND I WOULD SAY THAT IF YOU CAN INTRODUCE IT IN SMALL DOSES WHILE A PARENT IS PRESENT TO GUIDE THEM, THAT’S A GOOD WAY TO DO IT. SO FOR EXAMPLE, WITH MY KIDS, I, THEY HAVE THE ABILITY TO TALK TO THE KIDS. ALEXA, I’M AFRAID TO SAY THE NAME. I’M AFRAID SOMETHING’S GOING TO WAKE UP. ALEXA. AND, YOU KNOW, TEACHING THEM A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT IT, UNDERSTANDING THAT IT’S NOT A, IT’S NOT A HUMAN BEING, BUT THEY CAN ASK IT QUESTIONS AND MAKE SURE THAT YOU’RE SKEPTICAL OF THOSE RESULTS. DON’T JUST BELIEVE THOSE RESULTS AND BE A LITTLE BIT CAUTIOUS ABOUT INTERPRETING WHAT IT’S TELLING YOU. WE DID IT. FOR EXAMPLE, I EXPLAIN THAT WHOLE THING. I HAVE A NOW SIX YEAR OLD AND I EXPLAIN THE WHOLE THING. IT’S NOT A HUMAN BEING, BUT YOU CAN ASK IT FOR INFORMATION. AND THE FIRST THING SHE ASKED, WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE COLOR? SO AGAIN, YOU COULD SPEAK ABOUT THESE THINGS. YOU COULD TALK ABOUT THESE THINGS. BUT I THINK ENGAGING WITH THEM, NOT PUTTING YOUR HEAD IN THE SAND AND PRETENDING IT’S A TREND, THEY’RE NOT MAKING IT EVIL OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT AND SAYING TO AVOID IT, BUT ENGAGE WITH THEM AND THEN USE THOSE AS TEACHABLE MOMENTS. WELL, I ALWAYS LIKE IT BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, YOUR KIDS IN THOSE QUESTION PHASES, WHAT’S FASTER, A CHEETAH OR A IT’S LIKE, I DON’T KNOW, MY BRAIN CAN’T HANDLE THAT. LET’S GO AHEAD AND ASK, YOU KNOW, AI TALK A LITTLE BIT US AS PARENTS. WHAT CAN WE DO AS FAR AS SAFEGUARDS LIKE, WHAT CAN I DO? CAN YOU PUT SAFEGUARDS IN PLACE ONLINE IF THEY HAVE ACCESS? OR WHAT DO I DO TO PROTECT THEM? I THINK IN GENERAL, IT’S A GOOD IDEA TO DEVELOP A FAMILY MEDIA PLAN. THIS IS SOMETHING THAT I DO ROUTINELY WITH FAMILIES. WE DO IT AT BOYS TOWN. YOU COULD LOOK ON OUR WEBSITE, THERE’S SOME TOOLS ON THERE AND IT’S JUST A GENERAL PLAN ABOUT HOW TO ENGAGE WITH SCREENS. AND YOU COULD INCORPORATE SOME SPECIFIC TO AI. SET LIMITS ON HOW OFTEN THEY USE IT. BUT WITHIN THE AI, YOU CAN’T REALLY SET SOME LIMITS ON WHAT THEY CAN DO IN IT. SO AGAIN, I WOULD ENCOURAGE STARTING WITH MINIMAL ACCESS AND THEN HAVING PARENT GUIDED ACCESS WHERE YOU’RE THERE, AND THEN SOME RULES AS THEY SHOW THAT THEY’RE TRUSTWORTHY WITH IT, THEY CAN GET MORE AND MORE FREEDOM. I WOULDN’T LET THEM JUST HAVE THE DEVICE HAVE IT IN THEIR BED, IN THEIR ROOM AT NIGHT, AND JUST FREE ACCESS. I WOULD START WITH LIMITED ACCESS, DEVELOP A PLAN AROUND IT, AND CHECK IN, LET’S SAY EVERY WEEK OR EVERY MONTH AND KIND OF GIVE THEM FEEDBACK, HEY, YOU DID A REALLY GOOD JOB ON THIS. I’M LOOKING THROUGH SOME OF YOUR MESSAGES AND NOW YOU’VE EARNED THE FREEDOM TO USE IT IN PUBLIC, BUT NOT IN YOUR ROOM. ONE MORE CHALLENGE, AS PARENTS HAVE TO FACE WHEN IT COMES TO THIS TECHNOLOGY, BUT IT’S HERE TO STAY. I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT ADVICE OF, YOU KNOW, NOT NOT ACTING LIKE IT’S GOING AWAY BECAUSE IT DEFINITELY IS. AND THANK YOU SO MUCH. REALLY GOOD INFORMATION. APPRECIATE IT. IF YOU’D LIKE TO KNOW MORE, WATCH THIS INTERVIEW AGAIN. OR YOU CAN ALWAYS GO TO THEIR WEBSITE BECAUSE LIKE YOU SAI

Artificial Intelligence is a way of life and chances are your kids are using it too. Stay up to date: The latest headlines and weather from WPBF 25We talk to an expert about how you should monitor your kids and their use of AI. Get the latest weather updates with the WPBF 25 News app. You can download it here.

Artificial Intelligence is a way of life and chances are your kids are using it too.

Stay up to date: The latest headlines and weather from WPBF 25

We talk to an expert about how you should monitor your kids and their use of AI.

Get the latest weather updates with the WPBF 25 News app. You can download it here.