Note to my Amma, Why AI Isn't the Enemy (But Why We Need to Be Ready)
Dear Amma,
I saw the worry in your eyes when you forwarded me that WhatsApp message about 'Artificial Intelligence taking over jobs.' You asked the question keeping millions of parents awake: 'Will my children have a future?'
Let me be honest: this isn't just another wave of change like we've seen before. This one's bigger. But here's what I've realised, it's not the technology that threatens us. It's how unprepared we are for what it brings.
So, What Are We Really Talking About?
Don't let the buzzwords scare you, Amma.
You've used Artificial Intelligence for years.Remember your electric rice cooker? It knows when the rice is ready and switches off. That's AI, a machine making a decision based on logic. It doesn't think like us; it follows simple patterns. 'When the water is gone, stop cooking.'
Machine Learningis like teaching a child to recognise ragas. There are only a few notes, but over time, a good singer learns to blend them beautifully. ML works similarly. Show a computer thousands of pictures of cats and dogs, and it learns to tell them apart - even when it sees new ones for the first time.
Large Language Models (LLMs)are like the one helping me write this are like a grandmother who has lived a thousand lifetimes. She's read every story, heard every conversation, and when you ask her something, she always seems to know the perfect thing to say.
The difference is: Grandma's wisdom came from living. LLMs only read about life. They know the recipe but never tasted the food. They can describe heartbreak but have never felt it. Think of LLMs like this: your brain finishes a sentence based on your life experiences. These models do the same but by learning from more texts than any human ever could. No magic, Amma. Just machines learning patterns, like how you perfected your sambar by trying different combinations.
The Uncomfortable Truth
Yes, jobs that are repetitive or rule-based will disappear. But here's what the headlines don't tell you: every technological disruption has also created more opportunities.
Remember the calculator? You thought it would make math obsolete. But it helped us solve bigger problems. Computers didn't replace accountants, they turned them into financial advisors.
AI is no different. But this time, the scale of change is bigger, and that's good news.
What Makes This Revolution Different
This isn't just about how we work. It's about how we think about work.
AI can analyse data, process information, and even write a poem. But it cannot dream. It can't imagine what doesn't exist. It can't feel the extra pinch of love (read loads of ghee!) that makes your recipes taste like home.
That's where we come in.
What Needs to Change: Our Mindset
The real challenge is not AI - it's how we're still preparing children for a world that no longer exists. We still value memorising over questioning. Following instructions over imagining. Knowing the answer over asking the right question.
Here's how that must change:
1. Teach Questions, Not Just Answers
Not 'What is the capital of France?' but 'Why do some cities become capitals?'
Not 'Solve this equation' but 'What can math help us understand?'
2. Encourage Creative Curiosity
Remember how I used to take apart radios just to see how they worked? That curiosity is what machines can't replicate.
3. Teach Thinking, Not Just Knowing
AI can know everything. But only we can imagine what's never been known.
AI as Your Best Friend
Here's what I've learned at work: when humans and AI collaborate, magic happens.
Doctors using AI can diagnose faster and spend more time with patients. Teachers using AI can grade papers quicker and focus on inspiring young minds. Artists using AI can generate ideas and go further with their creativity.
AI doesn't replace us. It amplifies us.
What This Means for Your Grandchildren
The world they'll grow up in will be vastly different. AI will take over the predictable and the mundane. That frees them to focus on what makes us human:
●Emotional intelligence: connecting with people
●Creative problem-solving: finding new solutions
●Ethical reasoning: choosing right over easy
●Storytelling: sharing meaning, not just data
How to Prepare Them
So when you ask me how to prepare them, here's what I suggest:
●Teach them to ask 'Why?' at least five times a day
●Encourage them to create something new every day, even if it's a doodle
●Help them fall in love with learning, not just grades
●Show them how to care deeply about people
●Teach them to be okay with not knowing all the answers
The Beauty of Imperfection
Here's something interesting: AI can create perfect art. But we still crave human imperfection.
Why do Van Gogh's uneven strokes command millions, but AI's flawless creations don't move us? Because his flaws speak to our soul. Why do we love a singer whose voice cracks with emotion over one with a perfect auto-tuned pitch? Because real connections are more than perfect.
AI can imitate, but it can't feel. Your imperfections aren't flaws; they're your signature.
When AI Became My Ally
Let me tell you something personal. You remember how I struggled with dyslexia? 'Beautiful' and 'beauty' felt like two different languages. It made me feel small and kept me away from my core strength of creative thinking. Then came the spell check. Later, grammar tools all examples of AL and ML, these tools didn't replace my effort, it freed it. I could focus on thinking, not just spelling.It gave me confidence. Helped me do what I was truly good at: finding patterns, connecting dots, imagining possibilities. It didn't make me smarter. It just removed the walls that kept my strengths hidden. And someone who struggled to spell is today writing a full-length article! That is the power of technology.
A Reality Check: Efficiency Always Wins
Let's be real: if something can be done faster, cheaper, or more accurately by technology, it will be. International calls were expensive - until WhatsApp. Shopping meant hours - until Amazon. Inefficiency always gets disrupted. A coder who just follows steps? At risk. A teacher who just reads from slides? At risk. A manager who just passes information? Replaceable.
But someone who adds value, creativity, and insight? Irreplaceable.
A Promise, and a Hope
Amma, your generation adapted from rotary phones to smartphones. You learned WhatsApp at 65. You showed us that learning matters more than age. If we raise children with that same curiosity and courage, they won't fear AI. They'll use it.
The Bottom Line
Yes, the world is changing fast. Yes, some jobs will disappear. But humans have always been extraordinary at adapting.
The question isn't 'Will AI change the world?'
It's 'Will we be the ones shaping that change?'
I believe we will. Because the same spirit that led you to embrace the unknown will guide us all forward.
The future doesn't happen to us, Amma.
We create it.
With love and hope,
Your Child from the Farland
(The author is former Head-APAC, External Relations, Bloomberg)
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