AI vs. Dad

We are in the future. 

When Hazel asked me to read her spelling words this morning, as I was trying to run off to the shower, I passed her my phone and asked her to get Google’s Gemini to do it for her.

We took a picture of her words, gave a ten second voice prompt, then let the spelling test commence. Gemini read the word, marked the answer, or gave more time if necessary. She can walk you through the relevant spelling rules, explain the sounds, or literally teach you anything available in the world’s curriculum. 

If you are worried about the .1% of the time that it makes an error (if you are that precise in your learning), then you can even upload the pdf textbook, or simply take a picture of your source material, then your error rate drops effectively to zero. 

While I love that AI can be a personal tutor on absolutely every subject, much more patiently and thoroughly than dad, I don’t believe that dad will ever truly be obsolete.

There is something magic about patiently waiting for a misspelled word, correcting without causing a meltdown, and being attuned to your child’s learning. Strong bonds develop as two warriors struggle through adversity, one letter at a time. 

How we accomplish our tasks is changing faster than humans are willing to comprehend.

How we connect as humans, has a long road ahead.

• Now that’s a peak ethos.