How Our Children’s Talents Will Triumph Over Artificial Intelligence

As a therapist and music teacher who has also had her fair share of days as an elementary school teacher, I’ve seen the challenges of technology surge. We educators and parents are constantly faced with questions: How are we to maintain the values learned in yeshiva alive, and how do we keep up with the rush of instant dopamine that the screens all around us provide?

I read a beautiful idea in the Family First article, “Cradle of Innovation.” Rabbi Zweig shares a thought, in the name of the Alexander Rebbe, on the pasuk, “Binu shnos dor v’dor. The Rebbe translates the word shnos as change. In each generation, he says, it is important to note the changes and challenges of that generation and tailor chinuch accordingly. And I marvel at the magnificent job our rebbeim and morahs are doing, racing to keep up with all the innovations in our surroundings, including smartphones, texting, the internet, and WhatsApp.

Enter AI

These technological advances have now been surpassed by an even more amazing technology: artificial intelligence. AI enables us to command the computer to create whatever we’d like – a picture, an essay, a poem, and more. Exciting it is, however, it is equally terrifying. As its name artificial intelligence suggests, AI mimics human intelligence, thus lessening the need for actual human creativity and input. This is a new challenge.

When I was going for my master’s in social work, I got help with my Word documents from Grammarly.com. It helped me make better word choices and fixed grammatical errors. Never did I imagine that, just as I graduated, there would be a program where I could request the computer to write a complete essay built from the pointers I put in. And never did I think that it would be able to self-analyze its writing, summarize its own mistakes, and correct them. Not only did it create something unique, it also analyzed my writing style and imitated it so that no one would know.

So, the question is simple: Who wins? Human or artificial intelligence? How do we nurture our children’s minds to think, analyze, and develop when they can easily access replacements for these faculties that work more efficiently and with far less effort?

The pasuk from Mishlei 22:6, Chanoch l’na’ar al pi darko, gam ki yazkin lo yasor mimena, gives hope to how we educators can keep Torah and chinuch alive amid any technological advancement ever created or ever will be created. And the emphasis is on the word derech.

Each child’s derech is created by Hashem and is unique and irreplaceable by any other individual – all the more so, any artificial intelligence. It is important to dig deep into understanding what your child’s strengths and abilities are. I owe a tremendous amount of gratitude to my parents for consistently encouraging me as a child to develop any interest and talent I had.

A Little Boy Named Tzvi

So how do we find these talents and draw them out? Here’s an experience I had:

Tzvi* had the most distinct features. With curly, bright orange hair and lots of freckles covering his face, he was an appealing child. Unfortunately, he was severely challenged with learning disabilities. He couldn’t sit still for one moment; he was constantly jumping out of his seat, pacing around the back of the classroom, and shouting out his thoughts and sometimes answers to what we were discussing in the classroom.

As a teacher, it was incredibly difficult to manage the classroom with his bright, cheery interruptions. Never were they malicious or disrespectful. But disruptive, they were. We tried everything, from hiring ABA therapists to reward charts and discipline tactics to taking him outside the classroom for breaks to medication. Nothing we tried helped manage his severe ADHD in the classroom.

Until one day, I noticed a drawing left behind on his desk. It was an incredibly detailed picture of space, something one would never expect from a nine-year-old. It was from there that we started a new system. I would let Tzvi in on the lesson before the rest of the class, giving him a brief summary. And I would challenge him to draw a comic or picture depicting the lesson that was so detailed that it took up the entire lesson’s time. This kept Tzvi busy, stimulated, and most importantly, learning with the rest of the classroom. Tzvi was bright so his pictures were beautifully descriptive. We shared them with the class, and in time Tzvi’s talent became a crucial aspect of the lesson. But what was most important was how Tzvi felt. Instead of being embarrassed by consistent reminders of his disruption, he became an integral part of the classroom, and he thrived.

Finding your Child’s Strengths

There are so many Tzvis out there. Not all of them are as severely challenged. Many of today’s youths pass through the system unscathed outwardly. Some of them even do well. But as we discussed earlier, AI poses a new challenge, the need to be sharply attuned to each child’s unique strengths and abilities.

Now is where you wonder, what about the children without any specific inclinations towards a particular talent? Here’s where the word interest becomes important. While some talents are inborn, every talent is a skill that needs disciplined development, and all it needs to start is an interest in something. My personal hobbies of art and music were not inborn talents. They started with a keen interest that took time to develop through lessons and practice. And in my work as a music teacher, I’ve noticed a pattern behind the students who are successful. It is often not the most talented child who advances to a professional level. It is the child with the most drive and passion – and who practices the most.

When parents question how to determine if it’s worth investing in music lessons and how to know when to start or stop, the factor I point out is the level of their child’s interest. By noticing what is important to your child, you can find out a lot about their techunos hanefesh (natural inclinations). A child who is very particular about neatness and cleanliness may thrive in detail-oriented skills. A child who is emotional may be inclined towards music and art and skills that require emotional expression. Children who love to tell others what to do can do very well in leadership positions.

Here are some examples:

Yocheved Rosenthal, LMSW, is a social worker working in Brooklyn, NY. She works with kids, teens, and adults navigating various challenges in parenting, dating, and mood disorders. You can reach her through her email yochevedcrosenthal@gmail.com.