I want to throw my kid’s iPad into a pond

In my day job as CEO of Magic AI, I’m an AI evangelist. I spend my days discussing ReflectAI, our proprietary computer vision software, and talking to investors about the transformative power of our technology, because I believe so strongly in our product.

But at the same time, like most parents, I live with constant, low-level technology anxiety. I worry about brain rot, dopamine loops, and whether my daughter is spending too much time in front of screens.

And, although I want her to be tech-literate, I do occasionally feel the urge to throw the family iPad into a nearby pond. Having just had my second child, a wonderful baby boy, I’ve been thinking more and more about how these two parts of my life collide.

As a founder, I’m selling a new way of doing things, a piece of the future. As a father, on the other hand, I am raising people who will have to live in it. This is what keeps my dreams for Magic AI, and AI more broadly, in check.

There is, certainly, a temptation to religiously follow tech startup mantras like “move fast and break things”. As an entrepreneur, in fact, it’s almost a natural impulse. But the reminder that I’m contributing to building a world that my children will have to navigate is a necessary emergency brake, and it’s one that’s always at the forefront of my mind.

I think, most crucially, it forces me to swap out the “growth at all costs” mindset for one that involves a much heavier, but also rather empowering, sense of stewardship.

In the world of rapid AI development, too often the things you break when you move too quickly are people’s trust, their attention spans, or their ability to think for themselves. There are, of course, no prizes for being first to market if all your product does is add more noise to an already crowded space.

Ultimately, I want to be able to look my kids in the eyes when they’re older and know that the tech I developed was guided by safety considerations and an understanding of social responsibility that factored in the future, because it belongs to them.

This content is contributed by a guest author. Startups.co.uk / MVF does not endorse or take responsibility for any views, advice, analysis or claims made within this post.