Generation Alpha: The Children of the Millennial

Generation Alpha is growing up with the familiar voice of Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant in their home.

In the world of the Alphas, interacting with Artificial Intelligence and voice assistants is simply natural. 

Generation Alpha sounds like one exciting generation. The older Alphas at age eight are more tech-savvy than their predecessors. How are they going to interact with advanced Artificial Intelligence, which is expected to be mainstream by the time the first Alphas reach their twenties? 

How Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies are going to impact the life, health, and future of Generation Alpha 

According to a study conducted by IEEE of Millennial parents of Generation Alpha kids, more than half of Millennial parents across different geographies are most comfortable with their infants and young children using health wearables to track many forms of health data.

The 2,000 parents surveyed are between ages 20 to 36 with at least one child eight years old or younger. The IEEE study (infographic) includes 400 parents each in the United States, the United Kingdom, India, China, and Brazil. 

Health-related AI technologies will have a great impact on the lives and future of the Generation Alpha children. These are the children who you will see wearing AI health-trackers from day one in life. 

Parents of Gen Alpha children also agreed on having a great deal of trust in AI diagnoses and treatments. AI-powered chatbots equipped with disease databases, patient history and symptoms could diagnose sick Generation Alpha children in a matter of seconds with 100 percent accuracy.

"By 2025, Generation Alpha will number 2 billion globally. It will be the wealthiest, most educated, and technologically literate in history." - Robert Hannah, Chief Operating Officer at Grant Thornton U.K.

Facial recognition and machine learning are increasingly able to spot rare health issues in photographies. If this is used wisely, it could help in remote consultation in rural areas.

Robot surgeons also get the approval of Millennials to operate on their Alpha children as well as trusting doctors using data from AI to make life or death health decisions. 

Generation Alpha children will not have to worry about their aging parents. AI social robots that care for the elderly are welcome by Millennials to help them live independently. 

It is most likely that Generation Alpha will not suffer from cancer thanks to the advancements and accuracy of AI technology in diagnosing the illness. This will contribute to an increase in the lifespan of Generation Alpha and also a better quality of life thanks to improved overall health. 

Generation Alpha sounds like one exciting generation, indeed. The older Alphas at age eight today are already more tech-savvy than their predecessors. 

What Generation Alpha in the U.K. has to say about technology 

The following two videos are part of a survey conducted by Hotwire Global Communications to Millennial parents and their Alpha children in the U.K. and the U.S. 

A survey conducted to 8,000 parents of Alpha children across the world revealed that eight is the age parents think their kids' knowledge of technology outstrips their own. (watch video) 27 percent of parents think their child values their iPad or iPhone more than anything else. 

"I really love my iPad and if it were taken away from me I would scream and I would ask my mummy: please, can I have it back, please! And I would keep on asking until I have it back," says seven-year-old Scarlet.  

"Dinosours were before humans, and then after humans there will be something like they will kill us. Maybe robots. People say robots, but probably not." - Archie, seven years old  

Sometimes Alpha kids can be serious about expressing their opinion on predicting the future, like Archie, who is seven years old, lives in the U.K.

Archie firmly believes that despite what grown-ups say, robots will not kill us. 

Of course, electronic devices top the Christmas' list for the Alphas. Who in this world would ever wish for something different, after all?

"For Christmas, I would like a PS4," says Theo, who is also seven years old. He adds that his parents don't let him play violent games. 

14 percent of parents think their kids are most influenced by YouTubers and 43 percent think technology improves hand-eye coordination skills. 

What Generation Alpha in the U.S. has to say about technology

"I would rather have an iPad, better than a dog." - Alfred, Alpha kid 

When talking about technology, Gen Alphas are super direct and confident about expressing their opinion.

"Most of the screen time I have is on my PC," says Saul, who is seven and a half years old. Yes, the half part is important when you are seven. 

31 percent of American parents think gadgets are the most important thing to their children, over toys, holidays, and pets. 25 percent asked their children's opinion before purchasing a gadget.

'I have been playing video games since I was three. I do enjoy playing video games but it's more of an addiction."

22 percent say their children are most swayed by online influencers. "Sometimes advertisements pop-up on YouTube. I don't think that I have seen anything on the advertisemnts that was really worth getting." -Alpha kid on YouTube ads

When asked about their future and what they want to be when they grow up, Alpha kids want to be airplane pilots, graphic novelists, and scientists. 

"When I grow up I want to be a graphic novelist because I draw a lot. I prefer to draw normally on paper but I prefer to make animations on a computer. I don't use my parents' phone because I have my own, which is really cool with games and stuff."

25 percent of American parents said they considered have their children use a gadget before buying it. 

Alphas have a great influence on Millennials. 84 percent of American parents have downloaded Instagram and Facebook simply because their kids were on it. 

Generation Alpha starts school: How do Generation Alpha children learn?

Generation Alpha is going to benefit from the technology advancements that are changing education. Education that uses the latest technology in class will create a completely different learning experience opportunity for the Alpha children.

Schools, educators, and educational institutions are going to find it challenging to cope with the demands of Gen Alpha children if they don't update themselves and adopt a new approach to education.

For Alpha children, knowledge is acquired by doing and experiencing. Schools will have to provide an environment that enhances this type of learning.  

"These children are the most connected, educated, and sophisticated generation ever, so when educating, a school should provide an environment that enhances learning for these digital integrators." - Jenny Coetzee, career educator and founding member of the ADvTECH Group's prestigius Crawford School La Lucia

Generation Alpha requires changes and a new approach to education at all levels. Colleges should get ready to receive Generation Alpha by creating programs of study that require deep learning.

Schools need to start preparing programs that are flexible enough to be adapted and changed quickly according to the young Alphas' inquisitive minds. 

The right way to teach the young Alphas is by developing their critical thinking and problem-solving skills. It will be important for Generation Alpha children to be able to see problems from different perspectives.

Teamwork will let them analyze possible alternative solutions according to different viewpoints, and then make decisions based on their own personal and individual critical thinking.

This is the generation that will co-live with advanced Artificial Intelligence. Gen Alphas need to be creative.

They need to be as quick thinkers as they can possibly be as members of the human race. This is the generation that will populate Mars and the Moon. Generation Alpha is the generation that will go where no other generation has gone before.