Vodafone’s research shows that AI chatbots are becoming a part of everyday life for young people, with 81% of 11 to 16-year-olds using the tech.
As AI becomes more present in young people’s lives, it is important to encourage conversations between family and friends about how the technology can be used safely, while highlighting the benefits and risks of using chatbots.
This guide brings together key ideas to help you start those conversations at home and school to develop crucial media literacy skills among young people.
The recipe: Understanding AI
AI chatbots are being designed to have conversations with us. They can answer questions quickly and explain tricky topics. But even though chatbots can sound friendly and human-like, they aren’t real people, and it is important to emphasise that they shouldn’t replace our own judgment, feelings and choices.
One way for children to understand AI chatbots is by thinking about it as a recipe.
AI chatbots are made from:
- Training data (the information they’ve learned from)
- Algorithms (the rules they follow)
- Patterns (how they predict what to say next)
These ingredients help AI to:
- Pull together information quickly
- Explain topics in simple ways
- Suggest ideas and inspire creativity
But, there are some key missing ingredients:
- Empathy
- Emotions
- Real-world experience
- Accountability
This is a crucial point for children to understand. Even if an AI chatbot sounds friendly or supportive, it doesn’t understand feelings or situations.
An AI chatbot checklist for your kids
It’s important we hear lots of different opinions and ideas and still think for ourselves and make our own decisions.
Vodafone and NSPCC have put together some top tips to help kids understand how to use AI chatbots safely. You could use these as discussion points at home or in the classroom:
- Be curious, ask questions. Talk about it with the people around you. This builds essential media literacy skills.
- Notice where AI shows up. By spotting where AI appears, it’s easier to understand what’s real and what’s not.
- Remember AI chatbots are tools, not friends. AI doesn’t have real feelings or experiences, it simply copies patterns it has learned.
- Double-check important information. Sometimes AI gets things wrong or just makes things up, so it is important to check other sources too.
- Keep personal information private. Treat talking to chatbots like talking in a public space and don’t share your full name, address, school, phone number or photos.
- Remember that not everything online is real. If something feels too good to be true, trust your instincts as AI can generate fake photos and videos.
- Set yourself boundaries. Create healthy habits and agree time limits or rules with your family.
- Get help and support. If you’re worried about something you’ve seen online, make sure you talk to a trusted adult like a parent or teacher.
Try these scenarios with your kids
If you’re looking for some discussion prompts, ask your kids whether they’d turn to a chatbot or a human in these situations and discuss the positives or challenges of those decisions. This helps to form boundaries:
- You need to research information quickly
- Someone was unkind to you and you feel upset
- You need ideas for a story
- You’ve had an argument with someone and need to fix things
- You are feeling lonely
Share this top tip with your kids:
AI can be a useful tool, if used in the right way. However, it’s important to know that chatbots don’t have emotions, real thoughts or empathy (the ability to understand another’s feelings), and can’t replace the understanding and support we get from friends, family and teachers. If something is worrying you or you need advice, you should always talk to a trusted adult.
What next?
For more support and guidance on AI chatbots, parents can explore additional resources and advice from Vodafone here.
Educators can download our free KS2, KS3 and assembly resources, made with Vodafone, to teach young people the risks of using AI chatbots.
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