Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian says he wants his 7-year-old to use AI every day, calling it a 'superpower'
Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian says he's all in on AI — especially when it comes to his 7-year-old daughter, Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr.
"I wholeheartedly want Olympia using it every day," he said on an episode of the podcast "Possible" published Wednesday. "I genuinely am so awed by the fact that super intelligence will be a commodity for her," he added.
Ohanian, who is married to tennis superstar Serena Williams, described how he's already using AI to fuel their daughter's creativity. The investor and entrepreneur dug up some of his own childhood pencil sketches — even half-finished ones — and ran them through ChatGPT with Olympia to bring them to life.
The AI turned his drawings into "full-color illustrations."
"It was just so wild to see her reaction to it," said Ohanian. He and Williams also have a one-year-old daughter, Adira River Ohanian.
Olympia still draws the old-fashioned way — with markers on paper — but now, they can "level up" that art together using AI. The pair can "make it fly through space," he said.
"I want her to understand that this is a superpower that she should have," he added.
The founder of VC firm Seven Seven Six also said he encourages parents to use educational AI tools like Synthesis to help with homework, which has been "going pretty well" for Olympia.
"I still need her to know the fundamentals of reading and writing and arithmetic," he said. "But I want her to know that the raw intelligence part has been solved for her."
"Now, it's going to be about her agency and her grit and her creativity," he added.
AI for children
Not every tech exec shares Ohanian's tech enthusiasm for their kids.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, for one, has said he doesn't want his baby son to form a best-friend bond with an AI chatbot. He said earlier this month that children should have "a much higher level of protection" than adults when it comes to using AI tools.
Ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt also said last year that AI could shape a child's identity and culture. He called on tech leaders to set safety standards.
Meta's CEO Mark Zuckerberg, meanwhile, has said he doesn't want his three young kids "sitting in front of a TV or a computer for a long period of time."
Still, AI is quickly becoming part of everyday life — even for children.
Companies are rushing to add AI chat elements to their consumer apps and services, including ones for kids and teens.
Tech giants like OpenAI, Microsoft, and Google have also promoted how their AI tools can support learning. Some educators told Business Insider last year that they welcome the use of AI in classrooms.
"Children in the future will only know a world with AI in it," Altman said in January.
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