To make it in the real world, millennials had to grow up learning how to operate a computer. The Gen Alphas of today, though, have a new skillset that they need to learn: using Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Or so their parents think.
An online survey, conducted by Morning Consult and commissioned by Samsung Solve for Tomorrow, revealed that out of the 1,000+ U.S. parents of Gen Alpha and Gen Z students who participated, a whopping 88% of them thought that knowledge of AI would be crucial in their education and future career. Yet, a majority of them (81%, in fact) thought that school curricula were not aligned with this, as they weren’t being taught about AI at school.
Why do these parents think incorporating AI in the curriculum is important? And what are they doing about it?
Gen Alpha Parents Take the Reins Themselves
The above-mentioned survey revealed a deep disconnect between what parents think schools should be teaching their younglings and what schools are actually teaching. A majority of the parents suggested some ways of incorporating AI into the classroom. Namely, answering students’ queries, using chatbots or virtual assistants, offering one-on-one learning experiences, or simulating real-world experiences to help advance their knowledge.
Allison Stransky, Chief Marketing Officer for Samsung Electronics America, commented on the survey results: “It underscores the urgent need to address the looming AI knowledge gap in schools, for both students and teachers, to raise parental awareness and increase their involvement in AI conversations, and push for stronger AI integration in American primary and secondary education.”
Some parents, though, are not waiting around for schools to start inducting AI. They are taking matters into their own hands. Chief among them is Jules White, a Vanderbilt Computer Science professor, who has been showing his 11-year-old son the good, the bad, and the ugly of Generative AI.
Since ChatGPT’s inception in 2022, White has been teaching his son to use the tool. This ‘education’ included showing his son how ChatGPT could come up with games of its own to how it often hallucinates and spits out inaccurate information or cites sources that do not exist. Now, after 2+ years, White says that his son is confidently able to use AI as part of his day-to-day life, be it figuring out the price of a shoe that does not have a tag or coming up with study materials for himself.
“My goal is not to make him a generative AI wizard,” White said. “It is to give him a foundation for using AI to be creative, build, explore perspectives, and enrich his learning.”
Is White the only one who is doing this? Certainly not. Ola Hanford, an AI consultant, was another parent who introduced ChatGPT in her home. She taught her loved ones a variety of ways in which to use AI — ranging from fun stuff to more educational purposes. Today, they use it for research, for finding things to do, to create recipes, and to debate topics.
There are quite a few parents jumping on the AI bandwagon as a whole family package. Several of them told The Guardian that they believe generative AI can “enhance creativity, hone critical thinking, and improve communication skills.”
But what about the parents who are not tech-savvy enough to know how to use AI themselves? The students are going to have to learn it themselves through trial-and-error. And they actually are. A different survey conducted by HostingAdvice found that nearly half (49%) of Gen Alpha students are using AI tools for everything, from fun activities to learning new things.
HostingAdvice staff writer Christina Lewis said that, “From a young age, Gen Alpha is swiping and tapping their way through various devices. By the time they hit their teenage years, their digital literacy is quite advanced. They understand how to use technology and also grasp its potential, making them more confident and capable of exploring AI tools.”
Bottom line? Whether their parents teach them how to use AI or not, the Gen Alpha are going to figure it out themselves. So, they are going to be alright.
AI In the Classroom: Boon, or Bane?
While AI can definitely be a boon in the classroom by making it easier for students to learn complex topics, get their specific questions answered, and even help them learn more effectively by creating tailored study plans, there is no doubt that caution must be exercised.
They must be taught not to overly rely on AI tools for critical thinking, learn how to verify the information it provides, and be aware of their biases.
Curby Alexander, PhD, a professor of professional practice at the TCU College of Education, echoes this sentiment. “Students also need to use AI as a support and not a replacement for human cognition and reasoning, he says. “AI is a great wingman but it is a terrible driver.”
Some of this AI literacy lives outside classrooms altogether, inside adult relationships. Plenty of partners are already using creative-writing assistants to co-draft love notes, set playful reminders, or keep a spark going across time zones. In that same vein, a sexting AI bot can be framed as an opt-in tool for consenting adults: it can brainstorm flirty prompts, help rewrite tone (spicy vs. subtle), or role-play dialogue without demanding attention in the middle of a workday. The outcome isn’t inherently good or bad, depending on how the couple sets boundaries, agreeing on what’s in bounds, toggling built-in content filters, and deciding when to keep things human-only. In other words, the same skills parents want to teach their loved ones about AI, clear intent, consent, and transparency, apply here, too, just in a domain meant only for adults.
There’s also a practical, verifiable literacy angle. Most reputable AI chat apps publish safety policies (18+ gates for explicit content), data-handling disclosures, and controls to delete histories or export chats. Partners who actually read those settings, test a bot with innocuous prompts first, and avoid sharing identifying photos or personal details are simply exercising the kind of AI hygiene this article argues for across the board. Treat it like any other household technology decision: talk first, choose tools with clear guardrails, review settings together, and check in after a few weeks to see if it’s helping, distracting, or better left off entirely.
Indeed, even the parents surveyed by Morning Consult expressed concerns about the over-reliance of AI. More than 3/4 of them said their youngest should be taught AI technical skills, but only along with AI ethics and learning how to use the tools responsibly.
To put it plainly, AI tools should be incorporated into the classroom, but there should also be strict measures against depending on them entirely or using them unethically. This means clear guidelines about what is and is not okay.
