Mark Zuckerberg On Why He Wouldn't Want His Kids To Completely Rely On AI: 'There's Some Things That You Need To Able To Do Yourself'

In an interaction with YouTuber Cleo Abram, Meta Platforms, Inc. META CEO Mark Zuckerberg shared his thoughts on the role of artificial intelligence in his children’s education.

What Happened: During the conversation that was posted on YouTube last week, Abram asked Zuckerberg about the potential benefits and drawbacks of AI in his children’s education.

She questioned whether he would want his children to use AI to improve their intellectual growth, and if he had any concerns about its use.

In response, Zuckerberg said, “I think that there’s some things that you need to be able to do yourself.”

The Meta CEO expressed concerns about over-reliance on AI, suggesting that it could erode self-confidence and the ability to perform basic tasks independently.

He used the example of calculators, stating that while they are useful tools, it’s still important to be able to do basic math in one’s head.

Zuckerberg also touched on the debate about teaching children to code despite the development of powerful AI tools.

“Should we still teach our kids to program computers? Even though you're going to have these tools in the future that are just so much more powerful,” he said, adding, “I think the answer to that is probably yes … because teaching someone how to code is teaching them a way to think rigorously.”

In conclusion, he highlighted the need for a balance between leveraging AI and maintaining self-reliance, especially in the context of children’s education.

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Why It Matters: Zuckerberg’s comments come in the wake of Meta’s recent advancements in AI, including the unveiling of the Orion AR Glasses, which he described as the first-ever full holographic augmented reality glasses.

Analysts have noted Meta’s progress in developing AR hardware over the last five years, with some suggesting that the Orion glasses could represent the next primary consumer computing platform.

Last week, when a user implied that the positive sentiment toward Meta post the unveiling of Orion was driven more by the company's market performance than by the product itself, Zuckerberg said, “You're never as good as they say when you're up, and you're never as bad as they say when you're down.”