Kids' AI attitudes expose education gaps, corporate data extraction, and global digital inequities
Original framing: “How kids feel about AI, in their own words” — MIT Technology Review
A trickster reading, invoking figures like Anansi and Coyote, exposes the paradox that AI promises empowerment while simultaneously harvesting children's data for profit. By inverting the narrative—seeing the 'cheat' as a subversive act of data reclamation—we reveal hidden power dynamics. This satire destabilises the solemn tech optimism and invites critical imagination.
Children's expressed feelings about AI are not isolated quirks but reflections of entrenched educational inequities, corporate data extraction, and cultural blind spots.
Indigenous and non‑Western epistemologies offer alternative frameworks that prioritize communal stewardship and data sovereignty, challenging the dominant profit‑driven narrative. Historical parallels to past tech rollouts reveal recurring patterns of widening gaps unless systemic safeguards—such as community‑co‑designed curricula and enforceable data rights—are instituted. By integrating scientific evidence, artistic expression, and trickster insights, policymakers can craft inclusive, future‑oriented strategies that amplify marginalized voices and reshape AI's role in learning societies.