What Kind of Future Awaits Our Children?

When we think about our children's futures, we often picture careers that look like ours—perhaps with newer technology, but fundamentally similar. The evidence suggests this picture may be incomplete.

The Workforce Is Already Changing

A study from King's College London analysing UK job postings found that AI is already reshaping the labour market. Between 2019 and 2024, job listings for roles likely to be affected by AI declined, while those requiring AI skills increased substantially. This isn't a prediction about some distant future—it's happening now.

Goldman Sachs research shows AI adoption is accelerating across companies of all sizes, with larger companies leading the way:

Source: Census Bureau, Goldman Sachs Research

The researchers noted that roles involving routine cognitive tasks showed the steepest declines, while positions requiring human-AI collaboration grew. The pattern suggests not that jobs are simply disappearing, but that the nature of work itself is transforming.

Their analysis estimates that AI could affect 300 million jobs worldwide, but importantly, they frame this as transformation rather than pure displacement. Early evidence suggests that at most 2.5% of employment is at risk of full automation today—the larger story is about how jobs are changing, not vanishing:

Source: Goldman Sachs Research

The Job Market Is Shifting

JPMorgan's research team has documented these changes in detail. Their data shows employment across key tech industries has plateaued since ChatGPT's release, even as AI capabilities expand:

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, J.P. Morgan

Perhaps more concerning for parents: college graduates are facing a tougher job market than in previous decades. The unemployment gap between recent graduates and all workers has narrowed significantly:

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, J.P. Morgan

This suggests that traditional education alone may no longer provide the same advantages it once did. The ability to work effectively with AI is becoming an expected skill, not a differentiator.

Education Is Adapting—Unevenly

Schools are beginning to respond to these changes, though the pace and approach vary widely.

Stanford University's research on AI in education found that teachers are increasingly using AI tools for lesson planning, assessment, and personalised instruction. The study revealed productivity gains, but also highlighted a gap: while educators are learning to use AI professionally, structured approaches for teaching students to use AI effectively remain less developed.

UNESCO has taken a global perspective, publishing guidance on generative AI in education that emphasises both the opportunities and the need for thoughtful integration. Their framework stresses the importance of developing AI literacy from early ages—not just technical skills, but critical thinking about AI outputs, understanding limitations, and ethical considerations.

Perhaps most relevant for parents is a recent randomised controlled trial conducted in UK classrooms. Researchers found that AI tutoring, when properly implemented with appropriate safeguards, can effectively support student learning:

Source: AI in Education Research - UK Classroom RCT

The study demonstrated improvements in both academic outcomes and student engagement, with no observed negative effects on wellbeing when safety measures were in place.

What This Means for Children Today

The research paints a consistent picture: children growing up now will enter a workforce where AI proficiency is assumed rather than exceptional. The question isn't whether they'll need to work with AI—it's whether they'll be prepared to do so effectively.

This creates a challenge for parents. Schools are adapting, but slowly. Many children won't receive structured AI education until secondary school or beyond. Yet the research suggests that earlier, age-appropriate exposure helps children develop more natural and effective relationships with these technologies.

The UNESCO guidance specifically recommends that AI literacy begin early, with approaches adapted to developmental stages. For young children, this doesn't mean coding or technical training—it means learning to ask good questions, evaluate responses critically, and understand that AI is a tool with both capabilities and limitations.

A Space to Explore Safely

This is why we built Octo.

We wanted to give curious children a place to explore AI naturally—through conversation, stories, and play—while giving parents complete visibility into that exploration. Not because every child needs to become a technologist, but because understanding how to communicate with AI is becoming as fundamental as understanding how to use the internet.

When a child asks Octo why the sky is blue, they're not just getting an answer. They're learning how to formulate questions that AI can understand. When they co-create a story, they're learning how AI can be a creative collaborator. When the answer isn't quite right, they're learning to think critically about AI outputs.

These experiences, accumulated over time, build a kind of fluency that's difficult to develop later. It's similar to language acquisition—children who grow up speaking multiple languages develop different neural pathways than those who learn languages as adults. Early, natural exposure creates different outcomes than delayed, formal instruction.

The Parent's Role

None of this replaces parental involvement. The research consistently shows that the most effective learning happens when children have both appropriate tools and engaged adults who can guide, discuss, and contextualise their experiences.

Octo is designed with this in mind. Every conversation is logged for parents to review. Session summaries highlight what topics came up, what questions were asked, what moments might be worth discussing. Parents can set guardrails, guide the experience, and use Octo's interactions as starting points for their own conversations.

The goal isn't to outsource parenting to AI. It's to give children a safe environment to develop skills they'll need, while keeping parents informed and in control.

Looking Ahead

The research tells us the future is arriving faster than many of us expected. AI is already changing how we work, learn, and create. Children born today will graduate into a world where these changes are complete and new ones are underway.

We can't predict exactly what that world will look like. But we can give children the opportunity to become comfortable with AI as a tool—understanding its capabilities, its limitations, and how to use it effectively. That understanding, developed early and naturally, may be one of the most valuable things we can offer them.

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References

King's College London. (2024). New study reveals early impact of AI on job market in UK. https://www.kcl.ac.uk/news/new-study-reveals-early-impact-of-ai-on-job-market-in-uk

Goldman Sachs. (2023). How will AI affect the global workforce? https://www.goldmansachs.com/insights/articles/how-will-ai-affect-the-global-workforce

JPMorgan. (2024). AI impact on job growth. https://www.jpmorgan.com/insights/global-research/artificial-intelligence/ai-impact-job-growth

Stanford University. (2024). Stanford study: Teachers lean on AI for productivity. https://scale.stanford.edu/news/stanford-study-teachers-lean-ai-productivity

UNESCO. (2023). Guidance for generative AI in education and research. https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/guidance-generative-ai-education-and-research

AI in Education Research. (2024). AI tutoring can safely and effectively support students: An exploratory RCT in UK classrooms. https://aiedresearcher.org/articles/ai-tutoring-can-safely-and-effectively-support-students-an-exploratory-rct-in-uk-classrooms/