Down the rabbit hole: Helping young people navigate AI

“You take the red pill – you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.” When I first encountered The Matrix Trilogy, it did not cross my mind that our world would swallow that red pill and be catapulted into a new AI reality, where unsolvable particle physics problems became decipherable; where transformed medical imagery saves countless lives; and where the boundary between imagination and creation is vastly reduced.

However, swallowing that pill has been accompanied by an uncomfortable gulp. Thankfully, the demise of the human race can be immediately assuaged. According to philosopher Tom McCelland, our understanding of what consciousness constitutes is too limited for us to know if AI is (already) self-aware.1 But we need not panic. Game Theory tells us that total AI dominance would be irrational: the world is too unpredictable and complex for any single system to control everything perfectly.2 Phew!

There are still palpable reasons for concern. 79% of 13- to 18-year-olds use generative AI tools.3 Yet many do so ineffectively and obliviously, wandering blindly down the rabbit hole. Unaware of the plethora of possible uses, such as playing devil’s advocate to strengthen reasoning and question assumptions, employing the Feynman technique to master a concept, or creating study aids to perform effective retrieval practice, students mostly use chatbots akin to a Google search. That is like driving a Ferrari to the shops. Without prompt literacy, students give unclear, ambiguous instructions to AI. The result is vague, unhelpful outputs that tell them what they want to hear and waste significant energy in the process, harming the environment. There are hidden minefields of hallucinations, unconscious bias and discrimination, deepfakes that perpetuate fake news and confirmation bias, distorting the truth and fuelling dangerous narratives.

There are huge pastoral challenges; within a fortnight, Grok AI generated an estimated 23,000 sexualised images of children.4 Meanwhile, 70% of teenagers have used AI to mimic friendship and emotional support,5 enjoying ‘yes-man’ responses from an ever-present ‘companion’. This erodes the human skills which will become increasingly desirable in a rapidly evolving job market.

AI’s exponential evolvement means that students need us to be the Cheshire Cat to their Alice, a guide through the quagmire which turns Wonderland from a realm of anxiety-inducing chaos into one of curiosity-invoking potential. Yet only 9% of teachers feel confident to do this.6 While research indicates that teachers in independent schools are more than twice as likely to have received formal AI training than their state sector peers,7 we must do more.

Vijay Govindarajan, a professor at Dartmouth College, posits in his three-box solution that we must constantly listen to the ‘weak signals’ of change, seizing hold of them to actively thrive and flourish, relinquishing the status quo. Promoting comprehensive AI literacy amongst our students represents a deafening frequency. They must be knowledgeable in what constitutes the different levels of AI; the basics of its construction and function; the multitude of amazing ways they can harness its potential using effective prompts; the plentiful pitfalls, misuses and hazards to ensure appropriate use; the impact on the environment and their future careers; and the inordinate risk of failing to engage with it. Computers were equally overwhelming yet transformative upon their invention; reticence reigned then too.

I will end with this: Daniela Amodei, president of AI company Anthropic, says, “When I think about what my kids will need as they get older it's human qualities: the ability to relate, to empathise… how you treat other people, how well we communicate with them, and how kind you are.”8 As technology becomes more powerful, the need for a broad and humane education becomes stronger. The Financial Times found that in recent years, strong social skills have been more important than strong maths skills in labour market success,9 whilst the World Economic Forum discovered that employers are increasing the value they place on curiosity and lifelong learning.10 The need for a specific AI education is clear but must not come at the expense of forgetting to instil what makes us human: creativity, emotional intelligence, communication, collaboration, resilience and critical thinking. These remain unequivocally non-negotiable.

References:

1: University of Cambridge, “We May Never Be Able to Tell if AI Becomes Conscious, Argues Philosopher,” April 30, 2025, https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/we-may-never-be-able-to-tell-if-ai-becomes-conscious-argues-philosopher

2: Michael Borella, “Why AI Will Not Take Over the World,” JD Supra, accessed August 29, 2026, https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/why-ai-will-not-take-over-the-world-2619592

3: National Literacy Trust, “Using Generative AI to Support Literacy in 2026: What Do We Know After 3 Years of Research?,” August 28, 2025, https://literacytrust.org.uk/blog/using-generative-ai-to-support-literacy-what-we-know-so-far

4: U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee Democrats, “E&C Democrats Investigate Elon Musk’s Grok for Spreading Rampant Non-Consensual, Sexualized Content,” press release, February 19, 2026, https://democratsenergycommerce.house.gov/media/press-releases/ec-democrats-investigate-elon-musks-grok-spreading-rampant-non-consensual

5: Common Sense Media, “New Report Shows Students Are Embracing Artificial Intelligence Despite Lack of Parent Awareness and School Guidance,” September 18, 2024, accessed August 29, 2026, https://www.commonsensemedia.org/press-releases/new-report-shows-students-are-embracing-artificial-intelligence-despite-lack-of-parent-awareness-and?utm_source=chatgpt.com

6: Pearson, “Pearson School Report 2025: UK Educators Voice Concerns Over AI Readiness,” December 4, 2025, https://plc.pearson.com/en-GB/news-and-insights/news/pearson-school-report-2025-uk-educators-voice-concerns-over-ai-readiness

7: Tes, “State Schools Falling Behind Private Schools in AI ‘Digital Divide,’” July 16, 2025, https://www.tes.com/magazine/news/general/state-schools-behind-private-schools-artificial-intelligence

8: Lauren Weber, “What AI Executives Tell Their Own Kids About the Jobs of the Future,” Wall Street Journal, February 26, 2026, https://www.wsj.com/lifestyle/careers/what-ai-executives-tell-their-own-kids-about-the-jobs-of-the-future-1ba43f65

9: Financial Times, “How to AI-Proof Your Job,” January 9, 2026, https://www.ft.com/content/5e2593a3-e834-4822-bbc8-7cb27086af24

10: World Economic Forum, The Future of Jobs Report 2025 (Geneva: World Economic Forum, 2025), accessed August 29, 2026, https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Future_of_Jobs_Report_2025.pdf