Paying Attention to Big Tech: AI & Early Childhood

AI is everywhere—shaping how we work, learn, and even parent. While its potential to simplify daily life is undeniable, it also raises serious questions, especially when it comes to our youngest children.

At Families In Schools, we’re closely watching how AI may affect early childhood development. These early years are critical—setting the foundation for lifelong learning and well-being—so any new technology must be approached with both curiosity and caution.

To better understand the promise and pitfalls of AI in early learning, we spoke with Dr. Dana Suskind, founder and co-director of the TMW Center for Early Learning + Public Health at the University of Chicago. Read on for her insights and why families need to stay alert as this technology continues to evolve:

Under your leadership, the TMW Center has emerged as a leading voice on the intersection of artificial intelligence and early childhood development. How would you summarize your thinking on this issue?

Put simply: we do not yet know the impact of introducing young brains to responsive AI. The most likely outcome is that it offers genuine benefits alongside unforeseen risks. If we are to avoid making the same mistakes we made with social media, i.e., allowing our children access to a technology with far-reaching and unknown consequences, we need robust, well-funded research into AI’s effects on developing brains and regulation that centers child safety.

Given that both research and regulation tend to move slower than industry, do you have any advice for parents who are seeing technology advance at breakneck speeds and looking for guidance right now?

Yes! We desperately need more science and more legal protections, but parents and caregivers will always be the most important guardians of children’s well-being. As a pediatric cochlear implant surgeon, I am quick to tell parents and others that I believe deeply in the power of technology, when wielded responsibly, to transform the human experience. So you are not going to find me making blanket proclamations about avoiding all AI. Rather, I want to help caregivers feel empowered to make responsible, informed decisions about the use of these tools in their homes and lives.

My biggest piece of advice can be summed up this way: Augmentation can be a gift; replacement is a gamble. For example, technologies can help parents make data-informed decisions, free up their time and mental bandwidth, and allow them to engage in more brain-building interaction with their children. These kinds of tools have merit! But I caution against technologies that replace moments of connection between parents and children. 

The TMW Center has developed a suite of innovative AI-driven technologies to help parents and caregivers foster their children’s cognitive, social, and emotional growth. Can you tell us a bit about that?

Yes! We are an applied research center dedicated to leveraging cutting-edge science—including innovations like AI and machine learning—to optimize foundational brain development in all children. As such, we’ve developed several new tools, including a wearable device that measures and analyzes a child’s language environment and offers caregivers feedback and encouragement in real time. One of the primary elements of the language environment measured is the frequency of conversational turns between a child and the adults around them. This is based on neuroscience demonstrating that back-and-forth exchanges have a particularly strong impact on brain activity and skill formation. The tool is language agnostic, meaning it will capture those conversational turns in any language (and multiple languages in multilingual homes!).

I believe this technology, currently being piloted in ECE classrooms and homes across the country, has the potential to transform how we understand and support child development. It is just one of many examples of how the TMW Center is responsibly utilizing emerging technologies to ensure all children can reach their fullest potential.

Where can parents find more of your guidance on these issues?

I regularly share insights and decision-making frameworks on Instagram and TikTok, under the username @DrDanaSuskind. And I could not be more excited to share that I have a book coming out next fall that will offer parents and caregivers a roadmap for navigating this new era of parenting. It dives deep into the science of attachment and brain development. My hope is that it will both remind parents of their inherent wisdom and capacity as caregivers and equip them with evidence-based frameworks for making decisions about AI.

How are you elevating this issue more publicly, and how can we help?

I’m excited to have a session proposal under consideration at SXSW EDU! I would be very grateful if anyone who feels this is an important topic that warrants further public discussion could caste a vote for “Born to be Wired: 4 Rules for AI in Early Childhood.” You can read a detailed description and vote here.