Growing Up With Technology and Rethinking AI in Early Education
By Sasha Tufnell
Artificial intelligence is becoming part of nearly every aspect of daily life, including how children learn. That does not mean it belongs in every part of childhood, but it does mean educators, caregivers, and schools need to think carefully about where it can help, where it may create risks, and what children could lose if it is introduced too quickly.
From computer labs to AI classrooms
As a millennial, I can remember when technology at school felt like a separate event. I took my first computer class in first grade. The computers were huge, they seemed to take forever to load, and using a program like Hooked on Phonics felt exciting simply because we were learning on a screen. Technology was something we visited, not something embedded into nearly every part of the school day.
Our friend Clippy, the animated paperclip that appeared in old Microsoft programs, would pop up to ask whether we needed help writing a letter, often when no one had asked, but rarely when we need him. Looking back, Clippy almost feels like our first introduction to an AI assistant: a little annoying, sometimes helpful, and very limited compared with the tools children encounter now. Today's students are not waiting for a computer lab and they don’t need to wait on Clippy. Technology is already in their classrooms, homes, assignments, games, and conversations.
That difference matters. Earlier educational technology generally gave children a new way to practice a skill. Current AI tools can answer questions, generate ideas, hold conversations, personalize lessons, and complete parts of the thinking process for them. The question is no longer whether children will encounter AI. The question is how early they should use it, how much support they need, and whether it is strengthening learning or replacing parts of learning that children still need to experience for themselves.
Having spent years working with children across school, community, and clinical-adjacent settings, I have seen how quickly young learners adapt to new technology and how deeply their environments shape their development. Their ability to learn a new tool is impressive, but being able to use a tool does not automatically mean the tool is developmentally appropriate or beneficial.
Why educators are excited about AI
There are understandable reasons for the excitement. Salman Khan, founder of Khan Academy, stated, “I think we’re at the cusp of using AI for probably the biggest positive transformation that education has ever seen. And the way we’re going to do that is by giving every student on the planet an artificially intelligent but amazing personal tutor.” (Khan, 2023). That possibility is powerful, particularly for students who need additional explanations, practice, or individualized support.
Conversational agents and interactive storytelling platforms may support vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, and comprehension by providing feedback and encouraging dialogue (Luckin et al., 2016). Tools such as Google's Teachable Machine and PopBots can also introduce children to machine learning, computational thinking, and problem-solving in hands-on ways (Su & Yang, 2022). Rather than only consuming technology, children can begin to understand how it works and experiment with creating something of their own.
AI-interfaced robotic toys may also support collaborative inquiry, communication, and shared learning when children use them together and with adult guidance (Kewalramani et al., 2021). Used thoughtfully, these tools can encourage curiosity and make complex ideas feel more accessible. The strongest possibilities are not necessarily about having AI teach children independently. They are about using technology as one tool within a larger learning experience guided by educators.
What children may lose when AI does too much
The same features that make AI convenient can also make overreliance easy. If a tool immediately gives a child an answer, completes a sentence, or solves a problem, the child may miss the frustration, experimentation, and persistence that often lead to deeper learning. Critical thinking develops partly through not knowing, trying something, getting it wrong, and trying again.
Reduced human interaction is another concern. Children develop communication, empathy, emotional awareness, and social problem-solving through relationships with teachers, caregivers, and peers. An AI tool may simulate conversation, but it cannot fully replace the experience of reading another person's facial expression, repairing a misunderstanding, taking turns, or feeling seen by a trusted adult. Research on AI in early childhood therefore points to the importance of adult involvement and developmentally appropriate use rather than positioning technology as a substitute for relationships (Su & Yang, 2022).
Privacy also deserves serious attention. AI-powered educational tools may collect information about children's learning patterns, preferences, voices, behaviors, and personal details. Schools and caregivers need clear information about what is being collected, how it is stored, and who can access it (Su & Yang, 2022). Young children cannot meaningfully evaluate those risks for themselves, so adults and institutions have a responsibility to do so for them.
There is also the issue of access. If the most effective AI-supported programs are only available to well-funded schools or families who can afford subscriptions, devices, and reliable internet, the technology may deepen educational inequalities instead of reducing them. Equitable integration requires more than giving students a device. It also requires infrastructure, teacher support, accessibility, and tools designed for children with different learning needs and backgrounds.
Teachers and human connection still come first
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani recently summarized what must remain at the center of this conversation: “Children need their teachers and human connection in order to learn and in order to grow. And they need to develop skills alongside their peers, build relationships with their teachers, and wrestle with tough problems on their own. The tech industry wants us to believe that AI in early education is not only inevitable but that it is necessary. We do not see it that way.” (Office of the Mayor, 2026).
Following this principle, New York City announced a one-year moratorium on student-facing generative AI for students in 2-K through eighth grade (Office of the Mayor, 2026). The policy keeps elementary and middle school classrooms focused on strong instruction, human interaction, play, discussion, creativity, and the opportunity to work through difficult problems without outsourcing that process to a machine.
This approach does not reject technology altogether; it recognizes that younger children are still developing foundational cognitive, social, and emotional skills. AI can be introduced in high school, when students can learn about its opportunities, risks, biases, and limitations under teacher supervision. Protecting the earlier years gives children space to learn through relationships, make mistakes, think independently, and experience the productive struggle that is part of learning.
Building AI literacy without rushing childhood
Children will need AI literacy, but AI literacy should involve more than learning how to prompt a chatbot. It should include understanding that AI can be wrong, that its responses may reflect bias, that personal information should be protected, and that a confident answer is not always an accurate one. Developmentally appropriate activities can introduce these ideas through discussion, play, collaborative projects, and hands-on tools such as Teachable Machine, conversational agents, or robotic toys (Lin et al., 2020; Williams et al., 2019).
For younger children, the focus should remain on creativity, exploration, collaboration, and inquiry rather than passive use or having a tool complete tasks for them (Kewalramani et al., 2021). AI should add to an experience that already includes teachers, peers, books, art, movement, conversation, and play. It should not become the experience itself.
Moving forward with care
Technology in education has changed dramatically since the days of oversized computers, slow-loading programs, and Clippy appearing in the corner of the screen. What has not changed is what children need most: opportunities to be curious, struggle through problems, build relationships, and feel supported by adults who understand them.
The future of AI in early childhood education does not have to be framed as completely good or completely harmful. The more useful question is whether a particular tool supports healthy development, protects children's privacy, remains accessible to different communities, and keeps educators involved. We also need longitudinal research, diverse study populations, and reliable ways of assessing AI literacy so that decisions are based on children's long-term needs rather than the excitement surrounding a new product (Su & Yang, 2022). AI may become a valuable part of learning, but it should remain a tool. Childhood, learning, and human connection should remain at the center.
Where I stand
While I understand the potential benefits of AI, my own stance is that it should not be introduced until around high school. When children are still young and their brains are so malleable, we should encourage more person-to-person interaction and learning, making mistakes and learning from them, and building critical-thinking skills. Research has documented concerns about the effects of excessive screen time on child development (Muppalla et al., 2023), while social learning research suggests that learning with others can be even more beneficial than simply learning from others (De Felice et al., 2023).
Children do not need AI during these early years. They need to go outside, build their curiosity and imagination through play, learn social skills through interaction, read books, make art, play a sport, learn an instrument, grow something, reconnect with the world, and disconnect from technology. All the education we need is around us, and nothing can teach us better than life can.
When children get older, we can introduce AI and teach them how to use it thoughtfully. But during those formative years, we should first help them build a connection to the people and world around them.
References
De Felice, S., de C. Hamilton, A. F., Ponari, M., & Vigliocco, G. (2023). Learning from others is good, with others is better: The role of social interaction in human acquisition of new knowledge. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 378(1870), 20210357. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2021.0357
Kewalramani, S., Kidman, G., & Palaiologou, I. (2021). Using artificial intelligence (AI)-interfaced robotic toys in early childhood settings: A case for children's inquiry literacy. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 29(5), 652-668. https://doi.org/10.1080/1350293X.2021.1968458
Khan, S. (2023, April). How AI could save (not destroy) education [Video]. TED Conferences. https://www.ted.com/talks/sal_khan_how_ai_could_save_not_destroy_education
Lin, P., et al. (2020). Zhorai: Designing a conversational agent for children to support AI education. Proceedings of the AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence, 34(09), 13381-13388. https://doi.org/10.1609/aaai.v34i09.7061
Luckin, R., Holmes, W., Griffiths, M., & Forcier, L. B. (2016). Intelligence unleashed: An argument for AI in education. Pearson. https://www.pearson.com/content/dam/one-dot-com/one-dot-com/global/Files/about-pearson/innovation/Intelligence-Unleashed-summary.pdf
Muppalla, S. K., Vuppalapati, S., Reddy Pulliahgaru, A., & Sreenivasulu, H. (2023). Effects of excessive screen time on child development: An updated review and strategies for management. Cureus, 15(6), e40608. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.40608
Office of the Mayor, City of New York. (2026, September 2). Transcript: Mayor Mamdani holds press conference to make education announcement with Chancellor Samuels. https://www.nyc.gov/mayors-office/news/2026/09/transcript--mayor-mamdani-holds-press-conference-to-make-educati
Su, J., & Yang, W. (2022). Artificial intelligence in early childhood education. Computers & Education: Artificial Intelligence, 3, Article 100042. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.caeai.2022.100042
Williams, R., Park, H. W., & Breazeal, C. (2019). A is for Artificial Intelligence: The impact of artificial intelligence activities on young children's perceptions of robots. In Proceedings of the 2019 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (pp. 1-15). ACM. https://doi.org/10.1145/3290605.3300677
