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What do kids really touch when they “use AI”? We sat down with educator Tom Mullaney and early virtual economy pioneer Tim Allen to strip away the buzzwords and bring AI back to what children actually experience: predictive systems that generate words, pictures, and sounds without authorship or intent. From Second Life marketplaces to today’s chatbots, we trace how hype blurs reality, how “easy button” tools undercut learning, and why kids deserve a clear, practical map for using AI without losing creativity or judgment.

We dig into a simple, striking demo: nine leading models drawing a wall clock once per minute, often getting it wrong in different ways. That moving snapshot opens a bigger lesson—if a model can’t keep a clock straight, don’t trust it where accuracy matters. Tom explains why generative AI reads as polished but painfully boring in student writing, while Tim offers pathways for young coders to use models for boilerplate and then switch to human craft for novelty and taste. Together we explore the mental health risks of parasocial chatbot bonds, the screen-addictive design of platforms, and the Harvard study that ties lifelong happiness to real relationships, not fleeting likes.

Parents and teachers will find practical guardrails: ask who built the tool and who benefits, demand transparency and family controls, and push for real accountability when systems output harmful content. Kids get a north star: humans create, computers generate. Keep AI as a tool, not a crutch. Choose projects that make you think, verify results, and be proud to fail boldly as you learn. We also touch on the environmental cost of running large models and why a family-first approach to AI can help everyone stay curious, safe, and grounded.

If this conversation helps you teach skepticism without fear and keep kids building in the real world, share it with a friend, subscribe for more like this, and leave a review with the one guardrail you’d add first.

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Kids are meeting chatbots everywhere, from homework helpers to pop‑ups on websites, and many of them think the robot “feels” things. We cut through the hype with a friendly, practical guide that shows how chatbots really work, why they sometimes sound brilliant and sometimes go off the rails, and what families can do to stay curious and safe at the same time.

We start by breaking down the core idea: a chatbot predicts the next word using patterns, not feelings or understanding. That simple lens explains why a bot can write a funny pizza joke yet invent a name when asked about your classroom. From there, we shift into digital safety that kids can remember: treat a chatbot like a stranger, never share personal information, and pause the moment a reply feels weird or unkind. Along the way we model the “grown‑up in the loop” rule and show how to fact‑check results so confidence never replaces care.

To make it hands‑on, we share a quick kitchen‑table activity that sorts “Safe Questions” and “Not Safe Questions.” On one side, creative prompts like stories, riddles, and science facts. On the other, anything that reveals names, addresses, school details, or phone numbers. We wrap with five simple takeaways that turn into everyday habits: chatbots are not people, they make mistakes, you never share private data, you stop and tell a grown‑up when something feels off, and you can still have fun within clear boundaries.

If this helped your family or classroom, subscribe for more parent‑friendly AI tips, share the episode with someone who needs it, and leave a quick review so more caregivers can find these tools. Your support helps more kids stay safe, curious, and creative with AI.

Support the show

Help us become the #1 podcast for AI for Kids.

Support our kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/aidigicards/the-abcs-of-ai-activity-deck-for-kids

Buy our debut book “AI… Meets… AI”

Social Media & Contact:

• Website: www.aidigitales.com
• Email: contact@aidigitales.com
• Follow Us: Instagram, YouTube
• Books on Amazon or Free AI Worksheets

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Worried that “learning AI” means more screens and less connection at home? We flip that script with a parent-first, practical roadmap for saving time, lowering stress, and building real AI literacy, together with your kids. Our guest, former teacher, edtech pro, and mom Julie Kelleher, shares how she created “Like a Mother AI” to help families turn curiosity into safe, meaningful habits.

We dig into the TIME framework, Tutoring, Ideas, Management, Encouragement, to show exactly where AI can lighten the mental load. You’ll hear how Notebook LM becomes a private study buddy using only teacher-provided PDFs, how a quick pantry photo can generate five meals for picky eaters in minutes, and how to turn dense topics into short audio or video explainers that match different learning styles. We talk about choosing education-first tools with stronger privacy guardrails, setting living house rules you can revise, and why co-learning is the fastest way to replace fear with confidence.

You’ll also get a candid look at boundaries and safety. We cover when kids should use a tool themselves vs. when parents should gatekeep access, why “no faces, no voices, no personal data” is a strong default, and what to do when a chatbot response feels off, document it, talk it through, and use that evidence to push for better products and policy.

Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs a calmer path into AI.

Resources:

• Like a Mother AI (Julie’s site)
• NotebookLM (Google’s “notebook” AI tool)
• Khanmigo from Khan Academy (AI tutor your kids’ friends might use at school)
• Canva for Education:
• CapCut (video editor that added AI image features)
• Pew Research Center report on parents, kids, and screen time
• Generative AI course

Support the show

Help us become the #1 podcast for AI for Kids.

Support our kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/aidigicards/the-abcs-of-ai-activity-deck-for-kids

Buy our debut book “AI… Meets… AI”

Social Media & Contact:

• Website: www.aidigitales.com
• Email: contact@aidigitales.com
• Follow Us: Instagram, YouTube
• Books on Amazon or Free AI Worksheets

Listen, rate, and subscribe!

• Apple Podcasts
• Amazon Music
• Spotify
• YouTube
• Other

Like our content? patreon.com/AiDig...