Stephen Downes

This is another take on the sort of harm we perceive computers (and AI in particular) may be causing to children's development. The term 'cognitive stunting' originates from the metaphor of stunted growth, which is measured by a growth chart on the wall. The suggestion is that we can compare a child to what is 'normal' growth, and from that, derive obligations (such as better nutrition of less smoking) that addresses the weakness. Obviously the same definitions and controls don't exist for cognitive stunting, and that is precisely the problem, writes Tim Green. "By leaving the instrument unbuilt, that we will not have to know what it did until the children are grown and the window is shut. The unmeasured child is not safe. The unmeasured child is simply the one whose dot we have agreed, in advance, not to plot." I'm not sure I completely agree; with each new technology, the nature and direction of 'growth' we want to see changes, and this is difficult, if not impossible, to capture in a chart.