家长自以为了解孩子们如何使用AI？其实他们一无所知
Parents think they know how kids use AI. They don't
译文简介
本文主要探讨了（美国）父母与青少年之间在AI（人工智能）使用认知上的巨大鸿沟：尽管许多家长认为自己了解孩子的情况，但实际上有高达64%的青少年在使用聊天机器人，而父母对此往往一无所知。
正文翻译
New surveys asked teens how they use AI. Parents have no idea what's going on, from homework to emotional support.
多项最新调查询问了青少年使用AI(人工智能)的方式：从完成作业到寻求情感陪伴。而家长们对孩子们的真实使用情况一无所知。
AI plays a huge role in Isis Joseph's life. "I use it every day," she says. The 17-year-old 11th grade student in New York City uses it for homework. AI helps her decide where to eat and provides inspiration for her poetry. Sometimes, she even turns to it with questions about issues in her personal life.
人工智能在伊西斯·约瑟夫的生活中占据着重要位置。“我每天都在用。”这位就读于纽约市、17岁的十一年级学生说道。她借助AI完成作业、决定就餐地点，还为诗歌创作寻找灵感。有时，她甚至会向AI咨询个人生活中遇到的问题。
"Parents may inflate AI as this very threatening thing", and of course, many of those concerns are valid, she says. "But I think AI is generally good."
“父母可能会把AI过度妖魔化，视作极具威胁性的事物。”她表示，当然，这类担忧中有不少确实有其道理，“但我认为，AI总体而言是有益的。”
Joseph illustrates a larger trend. There's a wide gap between how parents and teenagers feel about AI in the lives of children, according to a new pair of studies from the Pew Research Center and Common Sense Media, a children's advocacy group. But there's a far more startling statistic in the details. The studies show a huge number of parents have no idea what their kids are doing with AI. Some uses are mundane, but some teens use AI in ways their families will find alarming.
约瑟夫的经历折射出一个更广泛的趋势。美国皮尤研究中心与儿童权益组织常识传媒发布的两项最新研究显示，父母与青少年对AI融入孩子生活的看法存在巨大鸿沟。而研究细节中还有一组更令人震惊的数据：绝大多数父母完全不清楚孩子用AI做些什么。其中一些用途十分平常，但也有部分青少年的使用方式，会让家长感到忧心忡忡。
One thing is clear: parents need to ask a lot more questions around the dinner table about how their children use chatbots.
有一点显而易见：父母们需要在餐桌旁多问问孩子，他们究竟是如何使用聊天机器人的。
There's a serious lack of communication about AI within families, says Monica Anderson, managing director at the Pew Research Center. "This is not a conversation that is happening with a large swath of parents," she says.
皮尤研究中心常务董事莫妮卡·安德森表示，家庭内部关于AI的沟通存在严重缺失。“很大一部分父母根本没有和孩子聊过这个话题。”
Pew surveyed 1,458 American teens aged 13-17 and their parents. "We found a gap between what parents believe is happening with AI and what teens tell us that they're actually doing," says Anderson.
皮尤研究中心此次调查了1458名13至17岁的美国青少年及其家长。安德森称：“我们发现，父母认知中孩子使用AI的情况，和青少年自述的真实使用行为之间存在明显偏差。”
评论翻译
很赞 ( 1 )
收藏
青少年对AI的担忧远少于父母，但许多成年人从一开始就对孩子使用AI的行为毫不知情
When Pew asked parents if their children use AI, only 51% said yes. The truth is 64% of teenagers said they use chatbots. Common Sense Media found similarly radical differences. Millions of parents are in the dark about what happens on their kids' screens.
当皮尤研究中心询问家长他们的孩子是否使用AI时，只有51%的人给出了肯定回答。而事实是，有64%的青少年表示自己正在使用聊天机器人。非营利组织Common Sense Media（一个致力于为家庭、教育者和青少年提供媒体内容评估与教育支持的非营利组织）也发现了同样巨大的差异。数以百万计的家长对于孩子屏幕上发生的事情依然一无所知。
That makes sense, because according to Pew, four out of 10 parents said they have never had a conversation with their children about AI.
这一结果并不意外，因为据皮尤数据显示，十分之四的父母坦言从未与孩子谈论过AI相关话题。
This is a big problem, says Rachel Barr, professor of early child development and chair of the department of psychology at Georgetown University in the US. "That does surprise me," Barr says. Families should be navigating AI together, rather than leaving teenagers to figure it alone, she says.
美国乔治城大学儿童早期发展教授、心理学系主任雷切尔·巴尔认为，这是一个严重问题。“这确实让我感到意外。”她表示，家庭应当共同探索、适应AI，而不是让青少年独自面对。
Emotional support
When the studies compared what children were doing with their parents' expectations, they found significant differences. It seems like a lot of teens are making decisions about AI on their own. "A significant minority of kids who have access to AI are using it in social ways that might make parents uncomfortable," says Michael Robb, head of research at Common Sense.
情感陪伴
研究对比孩子的实际行为与父母的预期后发现，二者存在显著差异。显然，大量青少年正在独自决定如何使用AI。常识传媒研究主管迈克尔·罗布表示：“相当一部分接触AI的孩子，会以社交方式使用它，而这类方式可能会让父母感到不适。”
Of all parents' anxieties about what their children are doing with chatbots, companionship stood out. According to Pew, 58% of American parents said they're not okay with their teens using AI for emotional support and another 20% said they weren't sure. But it's happening.
在父母对孩子使用聊天机器人的所有担忧中，寻求情感陪伴最为突出。皮尤数据显示，58%的美国父母不赞成青少年使用AI获取情感支持，另有20%的父母态度不明。但这类行为真实发生着。
Red Flags
According to the American Psychological Association, the signs of problematic AI use in teens may include:
危险信号
美国心理学会指出，青少年存在以下表现，可能意味着其AI使用行为已出现问题：
· They describe AI as their "best friend" or primary confidant
· They fall apart when they can't access it
· School, sleep or real friendships are slipping
· They're using AI to dodge hard conversations
· Noticeable changes in mood, behaviour or thinking
将AI称作自己的“挚友”或主要倾诉对象
无法使用AI时情绪崩溃
学业、睡眠或现实人际关系受到影响
借助AI逃避棘手的沟通
情绪、行为或思维方式出现明显变化
Seek help immediately if someone is using AI to discuss self-harm, serious depression or mental health crises.
若青少年通过AI谈论自残、重度抑郁或心理健康危机等话题，需立即寻求专业帮助。
"Sometimes I tell AI something about how I'm feeling, or like a situation that may have happened to me. And it'll respond back to me basically putting it in perspective, or [explaining] the best way to go about a situation," Joseph says. "It can definitely be emotionally supportive, but of course, it's a robot."
“有时候我会跟AI说说自己的感受，或是发生在我身上的一些事。它会给出回应，帮我理清思路，或是告诉我处理问题的最佳方式。”约瑟夫说，“它确实能提供情感支持，但说到底，它只是个程序。”
The teens I spoke to about this are savvier than you might expect. Joseph, for instance, says she recognises the AI may just be saying what she wants to hear and takes the advice with caution. But most of them, Joseph included, say using AI for advice or companionship can go too far. Several mentioned the story of a 14-year-old boy who took his own life after obsessive conversations with a chatbot.
接受采访的青少年对此远比人们想象中更清醒。比如约瑟夫就明白，AI可能只是在说她想听的话，因此会谨慎对待其建议。但包括她在内的大多数人都认为，过度依赖AI获取建议或陪伴并不可取。有几位青少年提及一则案例：一名14岁男孩在与聊天机器人频繁对话后，选择了结束自己的生命。
"One of my friends, at one point, he talked to AI all the time," says Kingston Rieben, 16, of San Diego, California. "Sometimes we'd just be sitting and we'd hear him laughing next to us, typing stuff down on his phone."
“我有个朋友，曾经整天跟AI聊天。”来自加利福尼亚州圣地亚哥、16岁的金斯顿·里本说，“有时候我们坐在一起，就听见他在旁边一边笑一边在手机上打字。”
When Pew asked US teenagers about AI, 12% said they use it for advice or emotional support and 16% said they use it for casual conversation. Those proportions may be small, but they still amount to millions of children across the US if the survey is representative. And there were huge racial disparities.
皮尤针对美国青少年的调查显示，12%的受访者会用AI寻求建议或情感支持，16%的人会用其进行日常闲聊。这一比例看似不高，但如果该调查具有代表性，全美仍有数百万青少年存在此类行为。此外，不同种族间差异显著。
According to the study, 21% of Black teenagers use AI for emotional support, compared to just 13% of Hispanic teens and 8% of White teens. (There weren't enough Asian teenagers in the study to break out a separate analysis.)
研究显示，21%的黑人青少年会借助AI获取情感支持，而西班牙裔青少年与白人青少年的这一比例分别为13%和8%。（研究中亚裔青少年样本不足，无法单独分析）
"We also see a lot of evidence, using regressions and other analysis, that race does stand out on its own, even when controlling for other factors like income," says Anderson.
“我们通过回归分析等方法也发现，即便控制收入等其他因素，种族差异依旧十分突出。”安德森说。
Keeping Tabs
Thomas Germain is a senior technology journalist at the BBC. He writes the column Keeping Tabs and co-hosts the podcast The Interface. His work uncovers the hidden systems that run your digital life, and how you can live better inside them.
关注追踪
托马斯·杰曼是BBC资深科技记者，开设《关注追踪》专栏，并联合主持播客节目《交互界面》。他的作品聚焦支撑数字生活的隐性系统，以及人们如何更好地身处其中生活。
The Pew study didn't address reasons for these differences. Barr suggests teens with fewer support systems may turn to AI as a resource because it's so accessible, but it's impossible to know for sure without more research.
皮尤研究并未探究上述差异的成因。巴尔推测，支持系统较少的青少年可能会因AI触手可及而将其作为求助渠道，但若无更多研究，无法得出确切结论。
As long as chatbots are on the market, it's probably inevitable that people are going to use them like friends and therapists. The American Psychological Association offers a guide for parents whose teens turn to chatbots. Among the key tips, it recommends asking questions instead of lecturing and watching for red flags that teens are using AI in ways that replace human interaction.
只要聊天机器人仍在市面流通，人们将其当作朋友和心理医生使用的情况或许就无法避免。美国心理学会为有此类行为青少年的父母提供了指导建议，核心要点包括：多提问而非说教，留意青少年用AI替代人际互动的危险信号。
Work and play
Among teens, some the most common AI habits are what you might expect. "I usually use it to study," says Eloise Chu, a 13-year-old from Chatham, New Jersey in the US. "Like if I have a math test, I'll give it a problem I don't know how to do so it can generate more questions, so I can get good at it."
学习与娱乐
青少年最常见的AI使用习惯大多在预料之中。“我一般用它来学习。”来自美国新泽西州查塔姆、13岁的埃洛伊丝·朱说，“比如数学考试前，我会把不会的题目输进去，让它生成更多同类习题，这样我就能练熟。”
According to Pew, teenager's number one use of AI is just looking stuff up (the way you might have Googled it back in the stone ages when I was a teenager). Help with schoolwork comes in next. About half of US teens say they use AI for research, and many use it for help with maths and writing. One in 10 teenagers say they do all or most of their schoolwork with the help of AI. A lot of the teens I spoke to say their teachers actively encourage the use of AI, with restrictions to ensure it doesn't stand in the way of learning.
皮尤数据显示，青少年使用AI的首要用途就是查询信息（就像我们年轻时用谷歌搜索一样），其次是完成课业。约半数美国青少年表示会用AI做研究，还有不少人用其辅导数学与写作。十分之一的青少年称自己全部或大部分作业都会借助AI完成。接受采访的多数青少年表示，老师其实会主动鼓励使用AI，只是会设定限制，避免AI阻碍学习本身。
Experts say a lack of communication means many teens are left to navigate AI without parental guidance (Credit: BBC)
专家表示，沟通缺失导致许多青少年在缺乏家长引导的情况下独自接触、使用AI（图片来源：BBC）
Almost none of the teenagers I chatted with admit to cheating with AI. When you ask teenagers about other students, however, you get a very different picture – 59% of teenagers told Pew that students at their school use AI to cheat while 34% said it happens extremely or very often.
接受采访的青少年几乎都不承认自己用AI作弊。但问及其他同学时，答案却截然不同：59%的青少年告诉皮尤研究中心，自己学校有学生用AI作弊，34%的人表示这类现象“极其频繁”或“非常频繁”。
"I've had classmates who like literally yell at the teacher, 'Hey, if you don't come answer my question, I'm just gonna get AI to do this for me'," Rieben says. Cash, his 14-year-old brother, has similar stories. "In science class, we had to research a topic and write about it and one of the kids at my table had just completely copied what the AI told him," he says. "But then he couldn't read his own handwriting and he didn't even remember what he wrote."
“我有同学甚至会跟老师大喊：‘你要是不过来解答我的问题，我就直接让AI帮我做。’”里本说。他14岁的弟弟卡什也有类似经历。“科学课上我们需要调研一个主题并撰写报告，我同桌直接照搬了AI给出的内容。”他说，“结果他连自己的字迹都认不出，甚至不记得自己写了什么。”
But it's not all work and cheating, 47% of US teenagers said they use AI for entertainment. Chu, for example, says she has a lot of fun using AI to generate pictures of penguins and pancakes, two of her favourite things. I promised her I'd try it. I can report it's just as great as Chu says.
但AI的用途并非只有学习和作弊。47%的美国青少年表示会用AI娱乐。比如埃洛伊丝·朱就喜欢用AI生成企鹅和煎饼的图片——这是她最喜欢的两样事物。我答应她会尝试一下，体验过后确实和她说的一样有趣。
Attitude problems
Some of the biggest differences in the study came down to how parents and teenagers feel about AI, and it's not all bad news. There's a big generational divide, and there are good reasons for optimism if you can accept that young people aren't completely oblivious.
观念分歧
研究中最显著的差异之一，体现在父母与青少年对AI的态度上，不过情况也并非全然消极。两代人的观念存在巨大鸿沟，但只要承认年轻人并非完全懵懂无知，就能看到不少积极信号。
According to a study from Common Sense Media, 52% of parents say using AI in school assignments is "unethical and should have consequences". But ask the teenagers, and the exact same number say using AI for schoolwork is "innovative and should be encouraged". Either the children are missing something, or the parents are.
常识传媒的一项研究显示，52%的父母认为在课业作业中使用AI“违背道德，应当予以惩戒”；而青少年中，持相同比例的人认为用AI完成课业“具有创新性，应当予以鼓励”。究竟是孩子认知不足，还是父母观念滞后，答案显而易见。
"I feel like adults might think kids are only using AI badly, to cheat on homework and stuff," Chu says. "I don't think most kids are doing that." (Chu's mother told me she's comfortable with how her children use AI, though.)
“我觉得大人可能觉得孩子只会用AI做坏事，比如写作业作弊之类的。”朱说，“但我认为大多数孩子并不会这么做。”（朱的母亲表示，她对孩子使用AI的方式感到放心）
But teens seem more comfortable with the tools in general. Common Sense Media found that 92% of teens say they can tell when they're interacting with an AI system or a real human, compared to 73% of parents. According to Pew, almost six out of 10 teenagers say they're confident about their ability to use chatbots, and a quarter said they're very or extremely confident.
整体而言，青少年对这类工具的接受度更高。常识传媒发现，92%的青少年能分辨出自己是在与AI还是真人互动，而父母的这一比例为73%。皮尤数据显示，近六成青少年对自己使用聊天机器人的能力有信心，四分之一的人表示“非常有信心”或“极其有信心”。
"Kids are often the vanguard of new technologies and more comfortable testing the boundaries of what new tech can do," Robb says.
罗布认为:“孩子往往是新技术的先行者，也更愿意尝试探索新技术的边界。”
Most teenagers don't share the doomsday view of AI that plagues so many adults. When Pew asked, 36% of teens said they expect AI will have a positive impact on them in the long term, and only 15% expected it to be negative.
大多数青少年并不像许多成年人那样，对AI抱有末日般的悲观看法。皮尤调查显示，36%的青少年认为从长期来看AI会对自己产生积极影响，仅15%的人认为AI带来的长期影响是负面的。
Parents don't need to have all the answers, Robb says, but they do need to start asking questions. "It's okay to ask your kids to take you on a tour of how they're using AI in their lives," he says. "At the very least, it's a conversation starter."
罗布表示，父母不必通晓所有问题，但必须开始主动提问。“你完全可以让孩子带你看看他们在生活中是如何使用AI的。”他说，“至少，这能成为开启对话的契机。”