How Will Widespread A.I. Affect Generation Alpha?

Children growing up today, specifically those born after 2010, have been dubbed Generation Alpha, and they’re set to be the most tech-intensive, educated generation yet, according to the experts at KinderCare Learning Center. In the same way that children of the 70s and 80s saw computers grow from expensive machinery used by the elite to common devices that we carry in our pockets, Generation Alpha will watch the rise of technology that today we see as impossibly complex and advanced, including the rise of A.I., from lunky, unrefined chatbots to whatever they become in the future.

That change is coming sooner than most would probably expect. Business Insider reports that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has become the first country in the world to bestow citizenship upon an AI-powered robot, named Sophia.

“I am very honored and proud of this unique distinction,” Sophia told the audience, speaking on a panel. “This is historical to be the first robot in the world to be recognized with a citizenship.”

The ceremonial event was held in the capital city of Riyadh, ahead of the Future Investment Initiative, and while likely more of a PR-stunt than anything else, sets interesting precedents regarding A.I. and how we will interact with them in the future. If Generation Alpha grows up believing that A.I.-powered robots deserve citizenship in the way that Sophia became a citizen of Saudi Arabia, what does that mean for the future of robotics?

Meet Generation Alpha

As the children of Millennials, Generation Alpha is only seven (almost eight!) years old at the time of this article’s publication. Nevertheless, this hasn’t stopped sociologists and marketers from trying to define and categorize the traits of this nascent generation. Generational researcher Mark McCrindle, in an interview with the New York Times, sums up Generation Alpha’s relationship with technology succinctly:

Generation Alpha is part of an unintentional global experiment where screens are placed in front of them from the youngest age as pacifiers, entertainers and educational aids, says McCrindle. They began being born in 2010, the year the iPad was introduced, Instagram was created and app was the word of the year, so they have been raised as screenagers to a greater extent than the fixed screens of the past could facilitate. For this reason we also call them Generation Glass.

Beyond their obvious ties to technology, it’s likely that far fewer children in Generation Alpha will come from homes of absent parents, points out Forbes contributor Christine Michel Carter. As children, only about six-in-ten millennials were raised by both parents, so naturally as parents millennials place parenthood and marriage far above career and financial success, she writes. They place high value on good parenting and are somewhat more likely than other generations to say being a parent is extremely important to their identity.

Carter also points out that more raised in the Alpha Generation will likely be single children than those in other generations. According to Pew Research 18 percent of women at the end of their childbearing years have an only child. This is an 8 percent increase from 1976, and has lead some to believe that Generation Alpha will likely grow up self-centered, expecting instant gratification though this isn’t far off from what has been reported of Millennials in the past.

Generation Alpha & A.I.: Growing Up Together

There’s a unique confluence of characteristics that make up Generation Alpha, as seen above. Because these children are more likely to be single children with parents that know and understand technology, many of their wants and needs will be taken care of digitally. This is proven, to an extent, by the sheer amount of parents who let their children play with their tablets and phones for entertainment. And it’s more than just the way this generation will be entertained, A.I. also promises to impact the health and vitality of individuals young and old technology has already emerged that unleashes machine learning tools against old human nemeses like cancer.

If we take this a step further, it’s not so absurd to think that A.I. toys will eventually replace or supplement those tablets and phones. Imagine Tamagotchi toys so advanced that kids forego actual pets for them, or Furbies that talk back and I don’t mean talk back in canned way that old ones did, but talk-back meaning the device can hold a conversation using your child’s name. Children have long been known to have imaginary friends … is it so far-fetched to think that some of these children may become friends with A.I.?

It’s hard to say what this relationship will bud into. As these children grow, they may become attached to A.I. in ways that we find confusing and even revolting. The BBC ran an article a few years ago detailing the otaku trend, a term that refers to a generation of geeks who have grown up through 20 years of economic stagnation and have chosen to tune out and immerse themselves in their own fantasy worlds, according to the article.

These men prefer to have everything on demand, including their relationships with women. While there’s no telling whether this is a precursor for the behavior of the most tech-intensive, educated generation yet, it is entirely possible that Generation Alpha will grow up right alongside and even befriend A.I., challenging the very definition of interpersonal relationships.

Be Ready for Anything, But Keep an Open Mind

It’s likely that the parents and grandparents of Millennials were horrified by the thought of a generation as connected and reliant on computers as has manifested. It’s also likely that their parents didn’t take too keenly to a generation that got all of it’s information from the television. This is simply the way the world turns, and it’s natural to feel negative about just how connected future generations will be to technology and A.I. but we have to keep an open mind, lest we become the cantankerous old naysayers that raised us!

The truth is that it’s hard to predict how A.I. and Generation Alpha will interact, but it’s almost certain that they will, likely on a daily basis. This is no different than the way that current generations interact with smartphones, and it seems absurd to think that anybody could stop the technological revolution that keeps the current world open and connected. In the same way, we shouldn’t be concerned with stopping A.I. from infiltrating our world, but should instead guide how it does. Generation Alpha will make full use of Artificial Intelligence in their lifetimes it’s up to us to lay the groundwork and make sure they do it right.