What happens to a teenager’s identity when no one, not even their technology, ever disagrees with them?
I was running a session with a group of sixteen and seventeen-year-olds at a Karachi school last term. We were talking about AI, how it works, how they use it, and what they tell it. At some point, almost without thinking, I asked a question I hadn’t planned.
“How many of you have ever disagreed with your AI? Like, actually pushed back on something it said?”
Silence. A few uncertain looks around the room. Then, slowly, one hand.
“Sir, maine ek baar try kiya tha, but it just agreed with me anyway.” (Sir, I tried it once, but it just agreed with me anyway.)
The room laughed. I laughed too. But on the drive home, the less funny it seemed.
Continue reading “The Mirror in the Palm of Their Hand”