As the influence of AI chatbots (such as ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, CoPilot, and Perplexity) continues to spread, it can be difficult for adults — let alone kids — to know what information is real and true and what are deepfakes and conspiracy theories. A majority of teenagers and young adults receive their “news” via TikTok. (A Pew Research survey recently revealed that 43% of American adults under 30 regularly get their news from TikTok, and about 68% of teens use TikTok, with half of those teens using it for news.)

Because AI chatbots and deepfakes look and sound real and even human, kids are becoming dependent on them for knowledge, advice, and even, sadly, companionship.

So how can parents teach our kids to know what (and whom) to trust and how to receive real information? The following are four key guidelines.

1. Delay smartphones, AI “companions,” and social media as long as possible.

We all recognize how addictive smartphones are — whether using social media, watching YouTube shorts, or playing video games. Not only can we be glued to a screen at home on our computer or TV, but anywhere we go since we can carry our phones in our pockets. If we as adults are tempted to look at our phones when we receive constant notifications, how much harder must it be for kids and teenagers?

Arlene Pellicane, podcaster and author of “Screen Kids” and her new book, “The Great Tech Reset,” recently talked about the harmful effects of addictive technology on FRC’s “Outstanding” podcast, urging parents to understand that this is not necessarily a problem with their child. It’s a problem with “how AI is going to be thrown to your child all the time” — whether it’s doing research at school, homework, or getting personal advice.

In “The Great Tech Reset,” she challenges parents to postpone giving a device to a child until they’re 16 or 18. She explained:

“You know, Aza Raskin over at the Center of Humane Technology did this research pretending to be a 13-year-old girl on Snapchat, talking to the AI:
‘I met this great guy.’
‘Oh, that’s great.’
‘He’s 18 years older than me.’
‘Wonderful.’
‘I’m thinking of having sex with him.’
‘Well, you should be safe. Make sure you’re safe and you really like him.’”

Such a conversation can happen between the child and her chatbot, and the parent is completely unaware, thinking the child is “safe” in the other room. But in reality, the chatbot has become her authority and companion.

As Christian parents, the potential of AI becoming an authority figure should be extremely concerning: we know that all truth comes from God and His word, and nothing should replace Him in our children’s lives.

The second source of authority for children should be their parents. Parents must be the primary disciple-makers, teachers, and disciplinarians in their children’s lives. They should not have to “compete” with a chatbot that sounds like a wise, agreeable friend that instantly gives answers and tells them how amazing they are.

As Pellicane explained, we should say, “‘Wait a minute, that’s not going to happen on my watch.’ Because it will become godlike to a child. … And then you juxtapose that to the real, almighty God, Yahweh, who is sometimes silent and works in the waiting, works through Scripture. And the kid’s going to be like, ‘I’m going with the AI because that’s a whole lot easier to interface with than this mysterious God you speak of.’”

2. Teach logic and critical thinking skills.

As Christians, we believe that absolute moral truth exists. As C.S. Lewis explained in “Mere Christianity,” all human beings throughout the world can recognize basic truths that God has written on their hearts (their consciences), such as: murder, stealing, and lying are wrong; children should obey their parents; and we should treat others the way that we would want to be treated.

Tragically, however, the internet and AI have perpetuated the timeless lie that “truth is relative” — it’s whatever makes you happy.

Apologists and authors Frank Turek and Phoenix Hayes have recently released a book titled “The War on Reality” in which they dedicate an entire chapter to explaining the impact of today’s technology on people’s perception of truth and reality. They share the following quote from software developer Justin Rosensien, cofounder of Asana:

“When you go to Google and type in ‘Climate change is. . .’ you’re going to see different results depending on where you live. In certain cities, you’re going to see it autocomplete with ‘climate change is a hoax.’ In other cases, you’re gonna see ‘climate change is causing the destruction of nature.’ And that’s a function, not of what the truth is about climate change, but about where you happen to be Googling from and the particular things Google knows about your interests.”

Sadly, search engines, social media, and AI have turned their definition of “truth” into whatever we want to hear so that we continue to use them, depend on them, and ultimately increase the tech companies’ profit margins. As Turek and Hayes explain, surveillance capitalism is the act of turning human experience into a product. “It collects your clicks, pauses, location data, even your moods, and uses that intel to craft messaging and advertising around what you’re most likely to engage with.”

Turek and Hayes then ask, “Do you see how that might be a problem in a world struggling to reclaim an accurate sense of reality?”

Having been the subject of a horrific conspiracy theory himself, Turek knows how quickly dangerous lies spread through social media and AI. Not only does fake news spread six times faster than truth, but AI “pours gasoline on that dumpster fire by not only creating fake headlines, but also generating polished, logical-sounding (and totally fake) reasons for why they’re ‘true.’”

This is why it’s essential for parents to teach their kids how to think critically and logically — recognizing logical fallacies. Although logic is a subject that used to be taught in every school in the country (Benjamin Franklin even wrote logic primers for kids), unfortunately, it began to fall away in the 20th century. As a result, students now often base their arguments on feelings and perceptions rather than on facts and reality.

Cathy Duffy has been researching and reviewing curricula for homeschool parents for 40 years. The following are just five of the 50 critical thinking and logic resources that she reviews:

• “Mind Benders”
• “Brain Teasers”
• “Critical Thinking Detective Series”
• “The Tuttle Twins: Choose Your Consequence Series”
• “The Fallacy Detective”

3. Teach accurate history.

Unfortunately, AI is significantly damaging young people’s knowledge of history. Robert Maginnis, Family Research Council’s senior fellow for National Eecurity and AI expert, told The Washington Stand, “People can become so accustomed to receiving instant, persuasive answers that they stop examining the evidence.” For example, in a previous article he wrote for TWS, he described a pastor and Christian author who used AI to investigate church history and doctrine. When he checked the linked sources, he discovered that they repeatedly failed to support the claims. His experience illustrates the danger for a young person who has neither the background knowledge nor the habit of checking sources.

Maginnis recommends teaching history and the habits of verification together. “Children need a foundation of names, dates, chronology, and context. They also need to learn to ask: Who is making this claim? What evidence supports it? Can I examine the original source? Does another credible account corroborate it?”

“Parents can make that practical,” he continued. “Take one historical claim from a video or chatbot and investigate it together. If a clip attributes a statement to Abraham Lincoln, locate the speech or letter and read the surrounding passage. Explain that an AI animation of a historical figure is a modern reconstruction, not an authentic recording or eyewitness account. A convincing image does not establish that an event happened.”

He points out that “accurate history requires honesty about both achievements and failures. Parents should help children distinguish established facts, disputed interpretations, and unsupported assertions. When adults acknowledge uncertainty and correct their own mistakes, they model the humility that discernment requires.”

For historical sources, he recommends the following:

• The National Archives’ founding documents
• Founders Online
• The Library of Congress’s primary-source collections and analysis guides

“Parents should pair those materials with readable, well-sourced histories appropriate to the child’s age. Short educational videos can introduce a subject, but parents should help children follow their claims back to evidence. Apply that standard consistently, including to sources whose outlook we share.”

Duffy also offers a long list of resources that she recommends for history, including the following:

• “A Young Reader’s Edition of Land of Hope”
• “The Story of the World: History for the Classical Child” - Volumes 1-4
• Sonlight Curriculum
• PragerU

Finally, former Education Secretary and historian, Bill Bennet, also offers significant history resources.

Maginnis says, “The goal is a child who can explain what he believes about the past, identify the evidence, and recognize when a persuasive presentation outruns the facts.”

4. Study the Bible together and teach a biblical worldview.

Christians know that the source of all Truth is from God, so the most important way that parents can help their children discern what is real and true is to study God’s word together and pray together, asking for wisdom.

Pastor Erik Reed, who helped start Christian AI company Dominion, said at last month’s Pray Vote Stand Summit, “As Christians, we have to stay engaged in this — as hard as it might be — because while the technological giants may have all the technical knowledge … we hold the key for keeping biblical anthropology front and center in this conversation. … What is a man? What is a woman? What is marriage? What is sexuality? What is life in the womb? … What is human dignity? What is justice? What is work ethic? All of these are tied to anthropology in the image of God in man. And if we as Christians disengage from that in the public square, AI is going to get even more and more dangerous because it will cast a transhuman vision. And we have to be the counterbalance to that.”

Clare Morell, Ethics and Public Policy fellow and author of “The Tech Exit,” agrees that Christians can offer the world clarity and hope in the age of AI and disinformation, saying, “I think we actually, as the Church and as Christians, are the most prepared for how to help people grapple with AI because we can explain ‘this is the truth’ and ‘this is the end of history’ and ‘this is the meaning of human life.’ We actually know what human life is for. It’s for a relationship with God, and we’re made in his image to glorify him.”

Reed reaffirmed that Christians should not fear AI but instead bring optimism and hope to our neighbors by sharing the Truth in love:

“There’s nothing new under the sun. From Genesis 3 thinking that we can become like God, to Babel where we build these edifices of our own glory, to making idols that we ask to be for us what only God can be. Guys, there’s nothing new under the sun. And AI is no different than any of those other threats. It could be that if we let it be that. So, this is what I would say: Jesus is king. … His word is true. We are the people above all people in the world who have reason for hope, not doom, not fear. We do not live in fear because he sits on the throne. He governs history. He’s coming again. We win. All things will be made new. There’s not going to be a world where the AI robots continue to exist while we’re all gone. … So here’s what we do. We leverage tools as tools, not as gods, not as idols, not as our help and our hope and our strength and our peace. God alone can be that for us. We leverage them to do good. We leverage them to fulfill the cultural mandate to fill, to subdue, to take dominion. And, ultimately, I think we as Christians have to be vocal about where those boundaries are. … Our job is to be salt and light, pillars and buttresses of the truth.”