Do you remember the movie Home Alone? The character played by a young Macaulay Culkin, an eight-year-old boy named Kevin, is accidentally left behind when his family departs for a holiday. At first, Kevin revels in his newfound freedom, enjoying opportunities normally unavailable under parental supervision. However, the excitement soon fades as loneliness, vulnerability, and the absence of shared experience, celebration and connection begin to take their toll.
I'm not sure a film built around this premise would be made today. Why? Because contemporary society is rightly far more vigilant about child safety, neglect and the rights of young people.
Ironically, I see a modern version of Home Alone playing out every day. It seems socially acceptable for children to be "home alone" online, even though leaving them physically home alone below a certain age would often be considered irresponsible or even unlawful.
Today, this challenge is being compounded by the rapid rise of artificial intelligence. AI offers extraordinary possibilities, but it also presents a seductive temptation: removing thinking from learning and replacing process with product. In many cases, students are being offered the destination without undertaking the journey.
A new context perhaps, but an old problem. Should children be left Home Alone?
The Research
Growing evidence suggests that unrestricted access to social media can harm young people's wellbeing. Similarly, indiscriminate use of digital technologies in classrooms can diminish student capacity rather than strengthen it.
When technology substitutes rather than supports thinking, students retain less knowledge, develop weaker understanding and struggle to build durable skills. Across thirteen years of schooling, countless small moments of distraction and cognitive offloading compound into significant loss of learning and intellectual resilience.
At Sunshine Coast Grammar School, no teacher will ever walk into a classroom and declare, "open your laptops." Such an instruction, without purpose or structure, invites distraction. Technology must serve learning outcomes, not compete with them.
One answer to modern learning may not be another app. It may be a pen. Research suggests handwriting leads to broader brain connectivity than typing and plays an important role in memory, understanding and learning. In a world increasingly dominated by screens, putting pen to paper remains a powerful learning tool.
Intergenerational Responsibility
At its best, AI is one of the most remarkable tools ever created.
For adults who have already learned how to learn, it can accelerate productivity, creativity and access to knowledge. Children are different. They are still building the cognitive architecture that will enable them to think critically, solve problems, exercise judgement and learn independently throughout their lives.
Equally important are the human connections that underpin learning. Shared experiences, conversations, collaboration and a sense of belonging help young people develop not only knowledge, but the capacity to think deeply and well.
The challenge before educators is not whether AI should be used. It is whether we can ensure that it serves learning rather than substitutes for it. The goal is to raise young people who can think.