What Do Kids Actually Think About AI?

Ask an adult what they think about kids and AI, and expect to hear a strong opinion. Parents, politicians, experts—everyone has a take on whether young people should use AI, how to moderate their exposure, and how it’s changing the ways they think and communicate. Many of these opinions revolve around education. Adults fret that kids will turn ChatGPT into a research bot, paper writer, or math problem solver. Teachers, specifically, struggle to know how to deal with policing student use, and how to include it in their own pedagogy. According to a 2024 Pew survey, a quarter of public school teachers think the technology does more harm than good; many more are on the fence. A later survey found 26 percent of US teens have used ChatGPT for schoolwork—double the number from 2023. But kids’ exposure to AI stretches far beyond education. Some use it for companionship, others for advice. So what do they actually think about the technology? WIRED talked to six young people across the US about their thoughts on AI—and how it’s changing their worlds. These comments have been edited for length and clarity. AI Can Help You Study—but Be Nice I don’t like to just ask AI a question and get an answer right away, because teachers say that’s cheating. A lot of times, I like asking it to find me sources. Like, during our Haitian revolution block in history, I’d ask, “Give me five primary sources on the Haitian revolution.” Then I would have to get a little specific, because it’d give me links to books to buy, too. Last year, for the biology test at the end of the year, what I did was copy-pasted the study guide that my teacher had given us into ChatGPT and had it ask me 100 questions about it. When you’re studying, that works, but in the moment, when you’re on the computer taking a test and you’re asking AI questions from testing, that’s cheating. The only time I use it outside of school is for recipes, like for baking. Although sometimes I see videos that are AI that seem so real. I feel like that’s the scariest part of AI, that it can make anyone sound like they’re saying anything. The better it gets, the more believable it is, and the more dangerous it is. I always say please and thank you when I use ChatGPT, just in case. If they take over the world, and they’re destroying everyone, then maybe they’ll be like, this guy says please and thank you. — Leo Schodorf, 15, Los Angeles AI Is Terrible at Writing Essays AI makes my day-to-day life as a student way easier, because it makes tasks a lot faster. If I want to create a to-do list, or if I’m studying for a test and I don’t have time, I can just put all my study materials into Gemini or ChatGPT and tell it to make me a study guide, to condense that information so I can get through it faster. Honestly, it’s not really good for writing essays, because it’s extremely obvious that AI is doing your work for you. But in terms of reading things or getting ideas, AI is really good for that.