Early Education
From Gothpoodle
Artificial intelligence and memetics are the core technologies of today’s education systems. Between them, they have transformed the business of conserving and presenting human knowledge. The most obvious example of this is in the earliest education of small children. Memetics has done much to explain how children learn – while advanced AI has provided society with an army of patient, effective teachers. The result is a form of childhood education more profoundly effective than any formerly known.
Kindercomps
In most Fifth Wave homes, every child receives a kindercomp no later than his first birthday. The cybershell form of the kindercomp varies greatly, from a simple flat “slate” weighing a pound or so, up to a cybershell pet weighing 20 lbs. or more. Built into the kindercomp is a computer running an AI operating system. The lower-end kindercomps will run an NAI, which will usually be teleoperated by the household LAI when interacting closely with the child. More advanced models run an LAI, capable of independently learning the child’s behavior patterns and acting in response.
The kindercomp is a companion, babysitter, and constant teacher. As soon as it is “attached” to a child, it begins to develop teaching methods suited for him alone. For an infant or toddler, it will offer games and stories designed to develop coordination and cognitive skills. Older children will learn literacy and numeracy from their kindercomps, then the basics of history, literature, and the sciences. Meanwhile, the kindercomp provides companionship when needed, helps the parents to teach good social behavior, and monitors the child’s physical well-being.
The Kindercomp Generation
From time to time, the kindercomp’s AI will be transferred into new cybershells, each one suitable for an older child. Finally, the AI is likely to be the operating system for the adolescent’s first wearable assistant or virtual interface implant. By this time, AI and child have grown up together and are effective partners in life. The relationship between an adult and his childhood AI companion is often more intimate than any he forms with other human beings. Such relationships are especially common among the Transhuman Generation, the first for whom kindercomps were cheap and effective enough to be found in almost every home in the Fifth Wave nations.
The widespread use of kindercomps (along with other technologies designed to help nurture and teach children) has effectively put an end to state-sponsored education in the Fifth Wave societies. Children are no longer warehoused during the day in state-run schools. Instead, they remain in their own homes, receiving personal attention from their parents and the household appliances. The state’s remaining role is to enforce minimal standards in childhood education. How this is done varies from country to country; most nations require annual or semi-annual tests of scholastic accomplishment for all children, with state assistance offered to children who seem to be falling behind.
Naturally, the kindercomp is no substitute for parental attention or social interaction with a child’s peers. Most parents try to interact with their children as much as possible, and make certain they have plenty of opportunity for structured play with others. A few parents rely too much on their children’s kindercomps, leading to later psychological and social problems.
See also Higher Education and Unconscious Education.
