How are your kids using AI<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWELCOME 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\u2019M 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\u2019LL SAY, JUST ASK AI. SO IT IS, IT\u2019S IN THEIR LIFE AND IT\u2019S HERE TO STAY. YES, YES, I HAVE TWO MYSELF AND WE\u2019VE 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\u2019T ALWAYS TRUST AND YOU STILL CAN\u2019T 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\u2019S 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\u2019S 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\u2019M THINKING I\u2019M USING CONSTANTLY CHATGPT FOR THOSE KINDS OF SERVICES. SO WHAT ARE WE GOING. HOW DO I INTRODUCE MY EIGHT YEAR OLD IF SHE\u2019S 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\u2019RE ENGAGING WITH THE AI. WE\u2019VE 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\u2019S A GOOD WAY TO DO IT. SO FOR EXAMPLE, WITH MY KIDS, I, THEY HAVE THE ABILITY TO TALK TO THE KIDS. ALEXA, I\u2019M AFRAID TO SAY THE NAME. I\u2019M AFRAID SOMETHING\u2019S GOING TO WAKE UP. ALEXA. AND, YOU KNOW, TEACHING THEM A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT IT, UNDERSTANDING THAT IT\u2019S NOT A, IT\u2019S NOT A HUMAN BEING, BUT THEY CAN ASK IT QUESTIONS AND MAKE SURE THAT YOU\u2019RE SKEPTICAL OF THOSE RESULTS. DON\u2019T JUST BELIEVE THOSE RESULTS AND BE A LITTLE BIT CAUTIOUS ABOUT INTERPRETING WHAT IT\u2019S 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\u2019S NOT A HUMAN BEING, BUT YOU CAN ASK IT FOR INFORMATION. AND THE FIRST THING SHE ASKED, WHAT\u2019S 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\u2019S A TREND, THEY\u2019RE 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\u2019S FASTER, A CHEETAH OR A IT\u2019S LIKE, I DON\u2019T KNOW, MY BRAIN CAN\u2019T HANDLE THAT. LET\u2019S 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\u2019S 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\u2019S SOME TOOLS ON THERE AND IT\u2019S 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\u2019T 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\u2019RE THERE, AND THEN SOME RULES AS THEY SHOW THAT THEY\u2019RE TRUSTWORTHY WITH IT, THEY CAN GET MORE AND MORE FREEDOM. I WOULDN\u2019T 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\u2019S SAY EVERY WEEK OR EVERY MONTH AND KIND OF GIVE THEM FEEDBACK, HEY, YOU DID A REALLY GOOD JOB ON THIS. I\u2019M LOOKING THROUGH SOME OF YOUR MESSAGES AND NOW YOU\u2019VE 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\u2019S HERE TO STAY. I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT ADVICE OF, YOU KNOW, NOT NOT ACTING LIKE IT\u2019S GOING AWAY BECAUSE IT DEFINITELY IS. AND THANK YOU SO MUCH. REALLY GOOD INFORMATION. APPRECIATE IT. IF YOU\u2019D LIKE TO KNOW MORE, WATCH THIS INTERVIEW AGAIN. OR YOU CAN ALWAYS GO TO THEIR WEBSITE BECAUSE LIKE YOU SAI\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tArtificial 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.\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Artificial Intelligence is a way of life and chances are your kids are using it too. <\/p>\n
Stay up to date: The latest headlines and weather from WPBF 25<\/a><\/p>\n We talk to an expert about how you should monitor your kids and their use of AI. <\/p>\n