By Zac Knight, QUT

Among many parents, educators and policymakers, conversations around artificial intelligence are often negative – concerns about distraction,“brain rot,” job loss, and the idea that it will make learning harder rather than easier. But what if I were to tell you that AI literacy is no longer a niche technical skill reserved for software and IT experts, and is quickly becoming a basic life skill that will soon be just as important as reading, writing and maths?

Redefining Literacy for the Digital Era

To be clear: AI literacy does not mean every student must learn to code or build complex algorithms. In the same way maths isn’t solely for accountants, technical skills need to be taught to give children the skills and understanding to navigate the world with confidence.

Examples of this include learning to:

• Critically evaluate AI responses and know when to question them
• Understand its greatest limitation – it doesn’t have human judgement,
• empathy or ethics.
• Use AI as a tool to enhance, rather than replace human capability.

When ChatGPT launched during my first year of university, I wasn’t just fascinated by what it could do, I wanted to understand how it worked. That curiosity shaped my academic journey beyond the school gates, and I’m now studying a Master of Artificial Intelligence at QUT and already seeing how quickly theory is translating into practice in real-world settings.

Employers aren’t just looking for tech experts, they are looking for graduates who are confident with technology, can quickly understand new tools, and know how to use them responsibly to solve real-world problems.

Flipping the Script on Screen Time

Concerns about screen time aren’t unfounded, but they often miss an important distinction: not all screen time is equal. Passive scrolling and active creation are very different experiences for a developing mind, and it’s that distinction – not just the time spent – that should guide how parents think about it. Within reason, and with an adult involved, screen time spent exploring, creating and questioning can build real skills.

When children explore digital tools, experiment with AI, create content, or collaborate online, they are subconsciously developing the problem-solving skills, creativity, and digital confidence needed to succeed in the future job market. But

this only holds true when that exploration is guided. Left entirely to their own devices, children can just as easily drift into passive consumption or take AI output at face value without knowing when to question it. That’s why adult involvement is key.

So, if we want the next generation to thrive in the digital age, that means we must replace panic with curiosity. And within reason, allow time for discovery and experimentation.

The Future Belongs to the Curious

Instead of avoiding AI or restricting technology out of fear, I encourage parents and educators to actively engage with it alongside their children – AI literacy isn’t something children should be building alone. It’s most effective when it’s adult-led… a parent or teacher sitting alongside a child, asking questions, modelling scepticism, and helping them notice when an AI answer sounds confident yet is actually wrong.

Shift the conversation from passive consumption to active creation by asking targeted, curious questions such as: What are you creating? How do you think it works? Is that actually true, or does it just sound right?

Higher education is already adapting. At QUT, AI skills development is integrated across degrees in different study areas because academics recognise that most future professions require AI literacy.

But these conversations cannot begin at the university gates. They should begin much earlier – at the dinner table and in primary school classrooms, with an adult in the room, not a device handed over and left unattended.

The Bottom Line

The young people who will thrive in the future won’t necessarily be the ones who know the most about AI. They’ll be the ones who stay curious, ask thoughtful questions, think critically about the answers they receive, and understand how to use AI as a tool to help them learn, create and solve problems. It is time to view AI not as a threat to their future, but as the ultimate tool to shape it – one best explored together, with guidance.

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