In a thought-provoking piece published in the Atlantic last week, NYU's Jonathan Haidt rings alarm bells over a worrying trend: kids to the latest entrants into the workforce are veering off the path to becoming empowered adults. His research, encapsulated in his recent book, The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness, suggests the smartphone has globally led the younger generations closer to helplessness than helpfulness. He prescribes a set of digital guardrails aimed at steering society back on track: 

• Smartphones: Not until high school.
• Social media: Off-limits before 16.
• Schools: Phone-free zones. 
• Life filled with real-world play, independence, and responsibility.

If his theory is correct, I’d argue there’s a new player in town threatening to upend the game even more: Generative AI. As we dive deeper into this brave new world, consider the consequences: 

• Human interactions are limited and empathy won't need to be practiced with AI companions offering ersatz relationships.
•  Isolation becomes obsolete, as AI offers endless engagement, leaving no room for solitude's quiet introspection, just it's not with other people. 
• The illusion of infallibility and self-greatness is fostered by AI that always agrees will challenge our growth. (We already see this with celebrities and their yes-men entourages.) 
• And the oldest industry in the book? As it always has, it will find new ways to exploit technology, potentially sidelining genuine human intimacy with the perfect intimate substitutions.

As we embrace AI, we're faced with a defining choice: Will we mold our future generations into wise leaders, or will we leave them as passive observers in AI-crafted bubbles? It's a call to action for us to prioritize real connections, authentic learning, and genuine experiences. AI is an incredible tool, but it mustn't replace the essence of what it means to be human.