I'm leaving with a bang, like this, to see the effect it (vi) has: the Alpha Generation will not know a world without AI. Did we marvel at the first internet connections? They will wake up every morning with an artificial intelligence ready to assist them, learn and grow with them. Or at least this looks like the way on which we are walking.
The Dawn of the Alpha Generation
Generation Z, with its ability to navigate between apps and social platforms, is the one that today seems to be the most immersed in the digital world (and also the most overstimulated, alas), but it may soon appear almost antiquated compared to the next wave.
Generation Alpha will not only participate in a technological or economic change: they will be part of a radical transformation of our approach to what in many ways is shaping up to be an "assisted reality".
Grow with a personal AI
Imagine an assistant who not only answers questions but anticipates needs, learns from routines and adapts to individual challenges. This could be the "daily bread" of Generation Alpha.
Timothy Papandreou, research and development of A X (formerly GoogleX) emphasizes the fact that we will not have a generation of programmers, but of "prompter". These children (including my daughter, who is now 6 years old) will interact with their AIs not through complicated codes, but simply by communicating, as they would with a human interlocutor. "Maybe they'll take better care of words and communication," says my mother, a literature teacher. A grandmother's hopes.
Are we going to speak in "functional language"?
As mentioned, the Alpha Generation will not need to learn intricate programming languages. In their place, a reissue of the "rhetoric" that was learned in Ancient Rome.
They will learn the art of "prompting" their AIs, using simple sentences to achieve complex results. Whether it's looking for information about Dante Alighieri for a task or to buy something, the AI will be there to assist.
The very mindset of society could change. How the era of Twitter and text messages has brought about linguistic contractions, how the era of social media and streaming has brought about the language of memes and TV series.
A "double" always next door
Every kid in Generation Alpha will have an "AI shadow avatar". Someone maybe from birth. This avatar will be more than just a tool - it will be a mentor, a companion, and a living reminder of past experiences.
If the Generation Z can boast of being the first generation to grow up with the internet, it will probably be the last to grow up without AI as a constant companion. A bit like my Generazione x, the last to know an analogue world before the advent of the web. And like every passing phase it will have its critical moments. (If you are confusing the generations at this point and you are not part of any of the generations mentioned, here there is an easy prospectus).
Challenges (and opportunities)
Generation Z is facing problems, even mental ones, related to the constant online presence. Even the Alpha Generation, growing up in deep connection with artificial intelligences, could face new mental health challenges not yet foreseen.
The use of AI by the Alpha Generation will characterize their entire professional future. Peter Diamandis, a futurist and co-founder of Singularity University, made it clear: companies that don't adopt AI will fail. But with great power comes great responsibility. The risks are enormous. As he pointed out Nell Watson, AI ethicist, "fair" rules are needed, neither too rigid nor too vague: a difficult undertaking for families, schools, institutions and governments.
Generation Alpha, tomorrow is yours
We are close to a future where technology and humanity complement each other in far more immersive ways, and Generation Alpha stands at the forefront.
These young pioneers, armed with curiosity and raised with artificial intelligence as a constant companion. They will sail into uncharted waters, as ambassadors of a new world.
A world where innovation is not just a concept, but a way of life.
