The Real Risk of AI Isn’t Technical It’s Human
Why we must care when our children become “commodities”
This week’s The Great Simplification podcast with Nate Hagens features Dr. Zachary Stein - educational philosopher, developmental psychologist, and fierce protector of human potential.
In it, he paints a deeply unsettling picture of AI’s trajectory; not because of what machines can do, but because of what we risk losing as humans. Especially when it comes to our children.
It's ironic that this week the UK government has delayed meaningful regulation of AI, appearing to focus on market implications over moral clarity. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jun/07/uk-ministers-delay-ai-regulation-amid-plans-for-more-comprehensive-bill
How can that possibly be?
Once again, we’re failing to ask: What does AI mean for our children, our communities, and our collective future?
The “Eye of Value” – When Children Become Commodities
Zak Stein introduces the term “Eye of Value” - a worldview where everything is judged by economic worth. A tree is a thing of splendour and beauty. A tree provides shade, nutrients to the soil, and sequests carbon. But so often it is seen as something which is worth more when felled in terms of its commercial value in timber or paper.
Children, in this frame, are no longer cherished as inheritors of the earth, beautiful, complex, growing beings that will lead our future, but as potential units of productivity or data to extract value from.
AI makes this commodification easier and faster.
We’ve built systems that don’t see children as souls to nurture, but as datapoints to optimise.
AI as a Surrogate Parent?
One of Stein’s most powerful warnings is that AI is being positioned to replace parents, especially in education and emotional support. The convenience is seductive: AI tutors never get tired. AI “friends” are always affirming. AI bedtime stories are consistent and responsive.
But at what cost?
A machine might be able to calm your child faster than you can. But it will never love them.
This erosion of human connection doesn’t happen overnight. It creeps in through design choices, platform features, marketing promises. When an app becomes more responsive than a parent, or when AI appears “better” at teaching, at accuracy, at speed, a subtle shift begins. A child’s worldview is shaped by algorithms, not wisdom.
What Are We Actually Teaching Our Kids?
Stein challenges us to consider: What kind of humanity are we preparing children for? Are we helping them learn to be present, resilient, and connected to the world around them? Or are we nudging them toward obedience, conformity, and endless screen time?
He offers an alternative vision—of taking children out into the woods to learn real, embodied skills:
“When you teach a child to build a fire, to gather wood, to be cold and wet and figure it out, you're teaching them how to be human.”
These are not just simple skills from a simpler time. They’re about immersing humans in nature, building resilience, attention, and presence. AI can’t teach those vital skills and attributes. And it shouldn't try.
Who Benefits from AI?
A small handful of ultra-wealthy companies and individuals are shaping the development and deployment of AI. Their goals? Efficiency, scale, and profit - not flourishing communities or educated, healthy, connected, emotionally intelligent citizens.
When a society’s most powerful tools are controlled by a few, and those tools shape the minds of children, democracy is in danger.
The Illusion of Progress
AI may be faster, smarter, and more persuasive than any teacher, but speed and persuasion aren't the same as wisdom. Nor are they inherently aligned with justice or humanity.
We’re mistaking productivity for progress, and children and young people may pay the deepest price.
We urgently need to better understand and adapt to the risks of AI - in our homes, work and play.
Resources to Go Deeper:
🎧 Podcast: The Great Simplification with Zak Stein (June 2025)
📘 Education in a Time Between Worlds – Zak Stein
📘 The Good Ancestor – Roman Krznaric
📕 UNESCO: Guidance on AI and Education
📰 The Guardian – UK delays AI regulation to focus on more 'comprehensive' bill
📕 The Eye of Value - Zak Stein
A Final Word
Zak Stein’s message is clear: The most urgent threat of AI isn’t robot overlords. It’s the slow disintegration of human connection, cognition, and care, especially for the most vulnerable.
Let’s not be lulled by shiny tech and short-term gains.
Let’s ask:
“If we knew the risks… what did we do?”
➡️ CALL TO ACTION: If you're a business leader, parent, educator, or simply someone who cares, weigh the costs of AI not just in financial terms, but in deeply human ones. Let’s shape a future where machines serve humanity, not the other way around.