180
‘My son genuinely believed it was real’: Parents are letting little kids play with AI. Are they wrong?
(www.theguardian.com)
this post was submitted on 03 Oct 2025
180 points (99.5% liked)
Fuck AI
4219 readers
725 users here now
"We did it, Patrick! We made a technological breakthrough!"
A place for all those who loathe AI to discuss things, post articles, and ridicule the AI hype. Proud supporter of working people. And proud booer of SXSW 2024.
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
Set aside the inherent problems with ai and just observe the parental actions here.
You kid is telling a story to you its parent. You can tell it your to tired/overwhelmed to listen or ask to Finnish it another time.
At what point is it ok to just abruptly replace your presence with someone else.
Imagine if someone did that to you, in the middle of conversation they just leave and tell you to finnish the end of it to someone else who was previously not involved. Its rude for adults but psychologically harmfull to a child still learning what conversation is.
Also, 2 hours alone at 4yo?
The father didn't want to deal with the child anymore, or was annoyed that he had to listen to it, sounds more like it
Also, the kid is just rambling on about Thomas the Tank Engine, how complex can the convo even be? It’s like the same shit that ever happens in that show. You really can’t just half listen to the kid talk about the train show while you fold laundry or whatever? Like come on man.
The second episode of TtTE famously shows The Fat Controller bricking up a tunnel with one of the engines inside because he didn't want to come out in the rain.
No way a ChatGPt conversation about that could go into dark places.
Agree that's rude to the child and teaches a bad lesson. Dishonesty in general is just bad parenting.
But, I do want you say, totally normal up leave (some) kids alone for two hours. Their behavior is pretty predictable and you may have to clean up a mess but it's generally fine (ideally in earshot). Just don't leave any major hazards lying around, like Daddy's bleach IV.
It's one thing to leave them in their room playing with the toys in there. He left him to play with an intellectual set of knives.
God knows what direction that ChatGPT conversation could have gone.
Probably better for them to Swedish it
What, nobody's kids Norwegian anymore?
Statistically, only a small amount of children these days are Norwegian.
My 4 year old son can easilly play with sticks in the back yard for 2 hours. He can use the toilet and get snacks and water without help.
But some days he wants my attention all day long
Maybe i am just paranoid then but i always instinctively check in periodically, just in case.
Well yea I dont think I would go that long without checking on him.
Maybe, idk