Generation AI Symposium: Reflections from young people
At our Generation AI Symposium on Saturday 14 September, we were joined by secondary school students who shared their thoughts about the future of AI and technology through panel discussions, presentations and an AI workshop.
Read some of their reflections from the day below.
“I really enjoyed the opportunity to meet and listen to the people at the conference, especially the child psychology specialist. It was the first time I have felt understood as a kid by an adult!”
“I enjoyed learning about how much AI was impacting us already and how our minds work differently from other ages.”
“...all speakers were engaged with the views of the younger generation. This meant our views were valued and made us feel we could comment on global topics of importance—encouraging us to involve ourselves in scholarly conversations. Very engaging, very informative.”
“...the talks that inspired me the most came from Sarah-Jayne Blakemore with her insightful take on the psychology behind social media, and the dangers of peer influence and social risk avoidance; Sir Anthony Seldon’s presentation on the difference between our modern age of technology in teaching, and the 4th Education Revolution using AI to augment teaching and learning; and finally Baroness Kidron’s talk on an AI Code of Conduct with children in mind, to ensure protection of children’s rights with the unpredictable age of AI, emphasizing that children are a major stakeholder in AI, and that we really have an opportunity to make real change with the societal response to AI.
I was inspired, and encouraged to take action by the presenters from the schools looking at issues like crop production, beach pollution, and communicating with deaf people; and I thoroughly enjoyed discussing pressing issues on societal responses to safe AI with the panel of experts. ”
“This has inspired me to start an ‘AI Society’ in school to help fellow Wellingtonians develop knowledge regarding what it is, where its going and where we want it to be and collaborate for practical applications of AI in school and society.”