Do you learn to prompt, or do you learn to ask the wise question?

Welcome back to the School of Dream, where dreams come in many shapes.

As a former IT startup co-founder who built one of Hong Kong’s largest volunteer matching platforms and various social tech projects, I have a secret to share: building startup wasn’t my dream job! In fact, for the last 15 years, one of the most meaningful things I’ve ever done is mentoring pre-teens and teenagers at my church. There’s nothing like building them up, watching them grow and their confidence, and seeing them step up. It feels like planting seeds and watching them bloom.

So when Gen AI comes to young people and students, I hear one question a lot: “Won’t AI just make our kids lazy? Or even dumb?”

I get the fear, I really do. But I honestly believe that’s the wrong way to look at it. AI isn’t the problem. The real question is: are we teaching our kids how to use it with wisdom and curiosity? I think Gen AI can be an incredible tool to make our kids smarter, not lazier, if we just guide them right.

Think of AI as the Smartest Kid in Class

Let’s get one thing straight. The fear that tools like ChatGPT will just turn kids into copy-paste dummies is real. But a tool is just a tool.

I want you to imagine Gen AI as the smartest kid in class. They’re not arrogant; they’re incredibly kind, know almost everything, and are always happy to help you with your homework.

Now, a student has two choices:

1. They can team up with this smart kid, using their help to understand tough concepts, explore new ideas, and actually learn the material together.
2. Or, they can just ask the smart kid to do all their homework for them.

If a student chooses to make the smart kid to do his/her homework, is that the smart kid’s fault? Of course not. It’s a failure of guidance. As parents, mentors, and teachers, our job isn’t just to show kids which buttons to press on an AI tool or what to prompt. Our real job is to teach them the mindset behind it, to spark a way of thinking that turns AI from a simple answer-machine into a partner for discovery.

It’s Not About the Answers. It’s About the Questions.

The most important skill we can teach is how to ask the wise questions. Not just asking for facts, but asking questions that unlock the AI’s unique, non-human way of thinking.

Let me give you an example. Imagine you give a student a bunch of data about climate change, population and economic activities.

• The Lazy Question: A student asks the AI, “How many tonnes of CO2 is emitted annually in the last 5 years ?” The AI spits back a number from the raw data. It’s a fact, but it doesn’t spark any real thinking.
• A Smarter Question: They step it up and ask, “What’s the relationship between rising carbon emissions and economic development?” Now we’re getting somewhere. The AI will give them a correlation, which is great for an essay. But this kind of question is also giving a frame to the AI and limits its response.
• The Wise Question: But here’s where the magic happens. The student asks, “Looking at all this data, what surprising connections do YOU see that I might be missing?”

Boom. You’ve just unleashed the power of AI. It’s no longer limited by the students’ own assumptions within their single human brain. It allows AI to use its non-human power to spot interesting relationship and it might come back with something they never would have thought of, like: “I’ve found a hidden link between urban migration patterns and occurrence of extreme weather conditions.”

Suddenly, the student isn’t just getting answers; they’re making discoveries. They’re on a path to asking even bigger questions, dreaming up solutions, and thinking like a true innovator.

It takes time to practise the art of asking good questions. It will take even more time and guidance to teach our kids how to think in order to ask a wise question.

So, let’s stop worrying that AI will be a shortcut to laziness. Let’s start seeing it as a launchpad for curiosity.

For all the parents, mentors, and teachers out there, I’d love to learn from you. How are you helping the young people in your life use these amazing new tools for good?

Share your stories in the comments!

Next up, I will share how I imagine Gen AI can supercharge our world and our future. Stay tuned!

About the author

Antony Wong, a tech enthusiast who has a lot to say, but also being an introvert at the same time.