Dr Ioanna Nixon
When we meet Baymax in Big Hero 6, he’s a soft-spoken, inflatable healthcare companion—programmed to heal, help, and comfort. His gentle “On a scale of 1 to 10…” became an instant classic among children and adults alike. While not technically AI, Baymax represents the hopeful side of technology: machines designed with empathy, purpose, and protection in mind.
But scroll back a generation, and you’ll find a very different machine: the Terminator. Cold, relentless, and autonomous—The Terminator wasn’t here to help your child with maths homework. It was here to end the world.
So as we raise children in the age of ChatGPT, Alexa, and algorithm-driven everything, the question becomes: how do we teach them the difference between helpful Baymax and harmful Skynet?
The AI Age Has Arrived—And Our Kids Are Already in It
AI isn’t coming. It’s here. From TikTok algorithms to classroom chatbots, our children are interacting with AI long before they understand how it works. As parents, our job isn’t to fear it—but to guide them through it.
Just like Hiro in Big Hero 6, our kids are growing up in a world where technology is woven into identity, creativity, and friendship. But unlike Hiro, they don’t have a Baymax to keep them in check—we have to be that guiding force.
3 Key Challenges (and What We Can Do)
- The Illusion of Understanding
AI can appear human-like. Pretty scary….ChatGPTs and virtual assistants respond with confidence—but they don’t understand in the way we do. Children can confuse fluency with truth. Pretty scary!!!
What to do:
Talk to your children often about how AI works—its strengths and limits. Encourage questions like: “How do you know that’s true?” or “Could a person have written this better?” Make curiosity the norm.
- Digital Dependency
Apps, games, and learning tools are increasingly AI-powered. While helpful, they can also nudge kids toward passivity, endless scrolling, and eroded attention spans.
What to do:
Set tech boundaries with compassion, not control. Ask: “What did you create today?” rather than “How long were you on your screen?” Emphasise making, not just consuming.
- Ethical Blind Spots
AI can reflect biases, automate unfair decisions, or suggest harmful ideas. Kids (and adults) may take outputs at face value.
What to do:
Introduce basic ethics early. Who made this tool? What’s its goal? Would it treat everyone fairly? You don’t need to be a computer scientist to spark
🌱 3 Opportunities to Embrace
🧠 Creativity, Amplified
Like Hiro designing bots, kids can now write stories, make games, and build music with AI tools.
Try this: Explore creative apps like CoWriter, Dall•E, or Scratch with them. Let them lead, while you help frame the process.
🌍 Global Thinking
AI connects them to voices and cultures worldwide.
Try this: Ask ChatGPT a question in different languages. Talk about how diverse the world is—and how AI can widen or narrow our view depending on how we use it.
💬 Empathy in Code
Even fictional, Baymax taught us something vital: technology with a human-centred mission can make a difference.
Try this: Get kids to imagine their own robot or AI assistant. What would it help with? Who would it protect? What rules would it follow?
💡 Final Thought: Be the Baymax
AI isn’t good or bad. It’s powerful. And like all powerful things, our children need to understand it—not fear it, not blindly trust it, but engage with it thoughtfully.
You don’t need to be a tech expert to raise kids in an AI world—you need to be a listener, a question-asker, a calm and curious guide. Your child doesn’t need every answer. They need to know they can ask you the hard questions, and you’ll figure it out together. Teach them that what matters most is the human values behind the code.
Baymax may not have been AI, but he was programmed with care, compassion, and curiosity. So can we be—every time we open a screen with our children.
In a world of bots and bytes, our job is to be the human touch: not to fight the machines like Sarah Connor… but to raise kids who can question, shape, and build a better one.
Dr Ioanna Nixon, for Jack&DrBetty Blog
#JackAndDrBetty #drexecutivecoach #resilience #ParentingWithPresence #RealLifeResilience #NoPerfectOnlyPresent
Click here to buy online and download the book “Dare to Dream Big”Ioanna Nixon, Consultant Oncologist, executive Coach, and author.
Dr Ioanna Nixon is a senior oncologist in Glasgow, UK. She specialises in uro-oncology, namely prostate, bladder and kidney cancer. Her research focuses on novel cancer therapies, quality of life and clinical innovations. She has held a number of national and international leadership roles, as Clinical Director Oncology, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, led the Scottish Sarcoma Network since 2015 till early 2022, and is the Cancer Innovation Lead for the West of Scotland. She is an honorary clinical senior lecturer at Glasgow University and an academic at Strathclyde Business School, researching on health policy and leadership. She is also an executive coach, specialising on resilience, leadership, and wellness. She is the founder of the Empower Clinic The Empower Clinic – Dr Ioanna Nixon and the co-host of the podcast “Open Doors with Drs Ioanna and Vilma”, focusing on professional wellbeing.
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