Chapter 2
The Generative Generation
The generative generation will be the first kids to live cradle to the grave with access to artificial intelligence. They will be the ones who figure out what to make of these powerful tools. Many of us will experiment with what generative AI tools make possible. But I wonder if we will harness its true potential.
It sounds hyperbolic, but they will be a different breed of kid.
Still, the shift we will experience in the next three to five years is unlike any other in the history of computers. These generative applications will enable a revolution in creative output. If these kids are lucky, they might even be the first ones exposed to virtual and artificial reality through Apple or Facebook's new headset, enabling them to experience things many of us never have.
Can you imagine what they will teach in high school computer classes in the next five to ten years? Will we still teach them how to hunt and peck for computer keys, or will some enterprising instructors teach them how to be literate in generative AI to access the world's shared knowledge?
For over a decade, a heated debate has been about what it means to be a digital native. We wondered what it might mean to live cradle to the grave with access to digital technologies. We assumed that being born digital gave kids superpowers that previous generations did not have. We thought kids knew things that their parents did not because they grew up with the internet.
On some level, we always knew that marketers, advertisers, and academics name trends and cohorts because it sells books and makes for an easy way to generalize the characteristics that separate one generation from the next.
As a digital native, I have never known what to make of the label. It fits a narrative of how I grew up on a small farm in North Dakota and helped all my parents and their friends fix their digital devices when they broke. I never thought my digital literacy skills had anything to do with the future — what soon became unremarkable abilities to anyone who learned how to Google questions and make sense of the potential answers, but it became the status quo.
Afterward, another generation grew up with smartphones and applications and lived with social media their entire lives. We might even call some of today's students the creator generation — those who grew up with access to YouTube and TikTok, who dreamed that their future career might be to create things for a global audience and make money through a mix of advertising, classes, and sponsorship. They are the kids who can look into the camera without pausing.
My dad will tell you that kids these days are glued to their smartphones, playing Roblox, and chatting with friends. They do not know how to play outside. They need to be more motivated to work. They want to spend countless hours playing these games. Passive consumption will not be how all kids approach this opportunity. There will be a boom of active creators and generators.