And we're live!
The latest from Techno Sapiens
It’s been a busy few weeks around here! Techno Sapiens HQ (i.e., my laptop) has temporarily relocated to South Carolina, where I am on work-cation1 with my family. Recent activities include:
Standing outside, face turned up to the sky, acting like I’ve never seen the sun before
Biscuits and grits. Cornbread. Butter.
Zoom calls while hiding from my children2
Lots of fun, new Techno Sapiens posts and collaborations
So, let’s round up the latest!
1. Stop using AI to lift your weights
The topic for this month’s Techno Sapiens coffee chat was Kids and AI. We had a fascinating conversation, and I’m still thinking about a metaphor we discussed. I first came across a version of this in Derek Thompson’s newsletter, but I’ve tweaked it slightly. Here it is:
When we think about how we use AI, and how we want our kids to use AI, we can think about the difference between going to the gym and putting away groceries. Both tasks involve lifting heavy things. In the case of the gym, though, the whole point is to lift the weights.3 In the case of the groceries, the point is, simply, that they’ve been lifted into the fridge. Generally, we want to use AI for grocery tasks, and not for gym tasks.
There is a larger point here for our kids (or students): we do not want AI to take the place of learning. And sometimes, learning requires struggle. It requires doing a task that is hard, or unpleasant, or repetitive, and which could easily be automated with a quick prompt of Gemini or ChatGPT. That said, we also need to be thinking about the types of tasks or assignments we give to students in school: are they true “gym” tasks? And if so, how do we convey that to students?
Note: monthly coffee chats are for paid subscribers only. The next one will be announced soon! If you’d like to join, please make sure to upgrade your subscription.
2. Humans first
Thank you all for the very kind messages in response to this recent post. I wrote about a scary experience I had with my daughter, and, as is my tendency, reflected on the intersection of humans and technology. In case you missed it, you can check it out below. ♥️
3. And we’re live!
Last week marked a Techno Sapiens milestone: our first ever Substack Live (aka live video).4 I joined Jeremy Caplan of the excellent Wonder Tools newsletter for a conversation about our favorite tech tools as parents, how to think about screen time, my current research, and more.
Subscribe to Wonder Tools to learn about new, useful tech and how to make the most of it, and check out the full recording here:
4. Using phones around our kids
I spoke to Two Truths about parent screen time, being present and intentional with our kids, and the “analog” experiences our kids might be missing.
About the conversation, Two Truths writers Kelsey and Cassie said:
Sometimes, the tech conversation can feel polarizing; advice can be fear-mongering. Nesi’s approach is not. When we asked her some of our most practical and pressing questions about parenting in a digital age, we found that her answers rooted us in intentionality and relief.
I hope you feel the same! Subscribe to Two Truths for timely news and powerful reflections on motherhood, and check out the full interview right here.
5. Beliefs about social media
I’ve become increasingly interested in the messages we send to young people about social media, and how their subsequent beliefs about it shape their behavior. In last week’s conversation with Nir Eyal about his (New York Times bestselling!) book Beyond Belief, he articulated this perfectly:
…there’s a difference between saying: “This tool is powerful. You need skills to use it well,” and saying: “This tool is addictive. You are powerless to resist.” The first framing preserves agency. The second undermines it.
Belief affects what teens pay attention to in themselves, what they anticipate social media will do to them, and whether they feel capable of regulating their own behavior.
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Work-cation: when you travel somewhere with your family and work remotely from that location. Benefits: family time, preservation of sanity in the midst of never-ending Northeast winter, cornbread. Downsides: discovering that with each additional child, less work and less vacation will occur.
That said, my children are having the absolute time of their lives. Going to the beach, playing on playgrounds, swimming, bike-riding, building sandcastles, and so on. In the span of a few days last week, they came within a few feet of dolphins, saw alligators, watched great blue herons, rode ponies, and fed llamas. Honestly, how many more animals can a nature-loving child encounter without their brain exploding? (Of course, this has not prevented a few tearful requests to go home due to such grave injustices as not being allowed to hit their brother).
I’ve been very into this metaphor lately. Does it resonate with you all, too? Or am I biased because I recently started trying to lift weights and I really wish AI could do it for me?
A fun surprise about my first Substack Live experience was that an automated email went out to all 50,000+ of you with a video preview. Given the aforementioned work-cation, I’m currently staying with 5 of my adult family members, all of whom also subscribe to this newsletter. This meant that on Wednesday morning, they all simultaneously received a live video of my face, talking to camera from the room next door. The Internet is a strange place sometimes. Also: endless thanks Jeremy for helping me conquer my fear of Substack Live!