The goal
To start a calm conversation with your children about AI tools, and to agree together on rules for safe and responsible use.
Before you start
- Twenty minutes of family time.
- One device and a chat tool used by a family member, respecting the minimum age in the tool’s terms.
- A sheet of paper to write down the rules you agree on.
The steps
- Ask before you advise: “Which tools do you use? How do they help you?”
- Try it together: ask a question about a topic one of your children knows well.
- Discuss the answer: is there a mistake in it? How did we know?
- Talk about privacy: what information do we never type in?
- Write your rules: three simple rules to put up somewhere visible.
Try it yourself
Use this request as a starting point for the family activity, and change the topic to suit your children’s interests.
A clearer request: “Explain to a twelve-year-old how AI tools that answer questions work, and what mistakes they can make, in five simple sentences.”
After reading the answer together, ask: do we agree with everything it said? What do we want to check?
Note: results vary from one tool to another and from one attempt to the next; the example shows a possible result, not a fixed one.
Review the result
- Did everyone take part in the conversation, or was it one-sided?
- Did you agree on what is never typed into tools: full names, addresses, personal photos and passwords?
- Did you agree on when AI may be used for homework and when it may not?
- Set a date to review the rules in a month.