New research shows that more than 70% of U.S. teens have used generative AI Tools, but more than half of parents know nothing about it.
A new report released by Common Sense Media sheds light on how often and how U.S. teens are using generative AI tools, and how aware parents are of this. The findings show thatSeventy percent of U.S. teens have used generative AI tools, and more than half of those students have used AI text generators and chatbots like ChatGPT and GeminiThe most popular search engines are those with AI-generated results. About one-third of teens have used an image generator such as DALL-E, and one-quarter have used a video generator.
The survey also suggests that AI usage among U.S. teens is accelerating, with an early report released by Common Sense Media in June of this year showing that by the end of 2023, only about half of teens have used generative AI.
The most common reason teens use AI is school-relatedMore than half of teens say they use AI to "help with homework," mostly for "brainstorming," with older teens more likely to do so than younger teens. This was followed by "boredom" and then translating content from one language to another. One in five teens have used generative AI tools to joke with friends.
The findings emphasize the challenges facing educational institutions in the face of this new technology. Sixty percent of teens say their schools either don't have AI rules or they don't know what those rules are. There are no clear standards about whether teachers should embrace or reject the use of AI. There is a subset of teens who use AI without teacher consent, as well as a subset of teens who use AI with teacher consent, and the two groups are roughly equal in number. More than 80% of parents said that their child's school had "no communication about generative AI". Only 4% of parents said the school prohibits the use of generative AI.
A noteworthy finding of the survey was thatMany parents are concerned about whether their child is usingGenerative AI not knowing anything at all (idiom); completely ignorant. Only 37% parents of children using AI tools knew their child was using them. Nearly a quarter of parents of children who use AI tools incorrectly believe their child is not using it. Most parents have not discussed AI with their children.