OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – An Auburn high school student showed 300 educators how artificial intelligence is reshaping teenage relationships and mental health through his award-winning short film.<\/p>\n
Beau Thomas, a junior from Auburn, screened his film \u201cDisconnected\u201d at a Kim Foundation conference. The 13-minute film has been in production for over a year.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want people to be able to not only watch the struggles of somebody going through it, but come to understand the warning signs and the symptoms of the problem,\u201d Thomas said.<\/p>\n
Student draws from personal experience<\/p>\n
Thomas said he wanted the film to address the reliance teens have on AI technology.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is very similar to a drug,\u201d Thomas said.<\/p>\n
Thomas said he drew from his own experiences with AI chatbots.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would retract from my actual social circle of friends who cared about me and who were willing to be there for me, but I would kind of choose to talk to these AI bots instead,\u201d Thomas said.<\/p>\n
The film depicts teens finding comfort in their phones and automated messages.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s like an angler fish, where they have that lovely little luring light attached to a gaping mouth that is ready to swallow you whole,\u201d Thomas said.<\/p>\n
Thomas said the experience mentally drained him.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt would leave me feeling in dismay, really,\u201d Thomas said.<\/p>\n
Foundation highlights youth voices<\/p>\n
Molly Verble, executive director of the Kim Foundation, said young people are increasingly turning to technology.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow more than ever, they are leaning on their phones, AI technology,\u201d Verble said.<\/p>\n
The Kim Foundation is a nonprofit dedicated to mental health advocacy.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have to hear directly from the youth what the key issues are, what are their challenges,\u201d Verble said.<\/p>\n
Film produced through contest<\/p>\n
The film was produced by glowmedia<\/a> and the Clarkson Institute<\/a> after Thomas\u2019 script was selected from a contest.<\/p>\n Trish Glowacki, founder of glowmedia, said Thomas stood out as a writer.<\/p>\n \u201cHe is a gifted writer. You can feel his passion in the project,\u201d Glowacki said.<\/p>\n Glowacki said she has been producing similar films for years after losing a son to an accidental overdose in 2011.<\/p>\n \u201cI lost a son to an accidental overdose in 2011. As a healing process, we wrote a short form music addressing prescription medicine misuse,\u201d Glowacki said.<\/p>\n Thomas said he was grateful for the opportunity.<\/p>\n \u201cI am so incredibly grateful for all of the people that have guided me along this opportunity or have attributed to it,\u201d Thomas said.<\/p>\n Thomas said his main message is about the limits of AI.<\/p>\n \u201cIt couldn\u2019t supplement human connection in the way that a lot of people, myself included, sometimes tried to make them,\u201d Thomas said.<\/p>\n