Why Are "Why Questions" Important for Children?

Asking “why” and conjuring up possible answers is an important thinking process. It gives rise to some of the most beautiful states of mind, such as curiosity and imagination. These psychological processes are royal ways into abstract thinking.

Abstract Thinking

Thinking in abstract terms means thinking about objects or people that are not immediately present or easily perceptible. For example, instead of thinking about the specific red apple in the bowl in front of you, you think about the apple orchard you walked through in the summer. Whether abstract thinking is unique to the human species is open to research, but it is clear that it is a capacity that develops over time. As children grow and their thinking becomes more mature, they become more reflective about what happened in the past and what could happen in the future.

A question that reverberates through current research on artificial intelligence (AI) is whether children’s abstract thinking is being threatened by AI robots. AI robots are used in many children’s apps and games. They are trained to think more systematically than humans. Such AI robots cannot make decisions and see causality as humans can. Neither can they see the whole picture as we humans can. But today’s AI systems can be taught abstract thinking in specific tasks. For example, AI robots can be trained to write poems with strong metaphors similar to those written by famous poets.

Does Teaching Abstract Thinking to AI Threaten Who We Are?

Some years ago, we may have compared our intelligence to animals, but these days, we measure human intelligence in relation to artificially intelligent robots. The better we design the robots, the more we run the risk that they could threaten human distinctiveness. At the same time, AI is helpful in solving challenges in many areas, so the real question is how, not whether, it could support abstract thinking.

A look into developmental psychology can facilitate our understanding of how AI and abstract thinking could develop over time. In particular, children’s story reading and the involvement of adults and technology in the reading process provide some clues.

Stories as Devices for Abstract Thinking

Good stories create tension between concrete and abstract ideas. On the one hand, stories have a specific story plot (something happens to someone), often followed by a moral lesson. On the other hand, stories have an aesthetic quality that gives them the power of art. While a narrative draws on lived realities, art tends to be more abstract.

High-quality children’s books provide a learning and aesthetic experience for both parents and children. For example, picture books can have illustrations with double meaning, one relevant for a young and one for an adult reader. Digital books can have a voice-over that does not run automatically but creates moments of silence that parents and children can fill with their conversation about the text. Such book design features create opportunities for adults’ input during story reading.

Holistic and Unpredictable Thinking

When reading books with their children, parents can ask children questions such as “Why do you think Little Red Riding Hood went to the woods?” A parent can draw on the child’s previous experiences or wishes for the future, prompting their little ones to reason and reflect. If a digital book contains an AI feedback system, it can prompt some reasoning too, but it is unlikely to be as rich as that of a parent.

This is because AI robots are designed to think logically. They cannot replace the holistic understanding a parent has of their child. AI is also bad at engaging in random and illogical ways of thinking that characterize many human conversations.

Girls sitting by water.

Source: Copyright: Natalia Kucirkova. Please do not use without permission.

During story reading, children make many illogical suggestions. In one of my observations of a child reading a digital book Little Red Riding Hood, with his mother, the boy made the Little Red stand on her head and jump outside the digital page. This made his mother laugh and led to a warm, interactive reading session during which the mother and son discussed various aspects of the story. AI algorithms work in the opposite way to that which I observed with this boy: an AI digital book follows the logical pattern of “if X happens, then Y follows.” AI prompts follow a linear path that can make predictions, while human thinking follows an original path that is often unpredictable.

Adults’ Support of Children’s Abstract Thinking

Abstract thinking requires a greater effort, more time, and more energy than quick and concrete thoughts. Many adults think that they help their children when they explain and detail every aspect. Yet, studies show that when children reflect on their own about how different story characters think or feel, they are better off than children whose parents or teachers explain everything. Abstract thinking requires effort, and doing the thinking on behalf of the child means removing both the effort and the benefit of it.

So, next time you read stories with young children, don’t just say: “The boy on the page is crying,” but ask: “Why is the boy on the page crying?” The child might come up with various reasons, and you can discuss their likelihood together. An AI robot would have given the correct answer right away, but you and the child can have a conversation about various options and hypotheses.

Artificial Intelligence Essential Reads

AI's Turing Test Moment

AI's Quest for a Grand Unification Theory

A girl with crafts

Source: Natalia Kucirkova

In addition to adults’ direct involvement in open-ended conversations with their children, designers can contribute to children’s development of abstract thinking. Design that is open-ended, with options for children to make their own crafts, stories, music, or drawings, is more likely to engage them in abstract thinking than a template-based design where children press buttons to get an immediate response.

The Future of AI and Abstract Thinking

I like to think that we can use AI to amplify human thinking in all areas, including abstract thinking. AI is likely to continue to have a strong impact on our lives, and that is OK. Let us use it as an opportunity to support more parents to nurture their children’s abstract thinking. Instead of design that shrinks rich inner lives to predictable patterns, let us create AI robots that open up new digital playgrounds for children’s imagination.