Making fire and talking to machines – what children really need to learn today

Fabian Westerheide is a founding partner of the AI-focused venture capital investor AI.FUND and has been investing privately in AI companies through Asgard Capital since 2014. Westerheide provides strategic advice to public and private institutions in the field of AI and hosts the annual AI conference Rise of AI in Berlin. He regularly writes about AI for Gründerszene. What can it do, where are its limits—or, as this time, what do we, or better yet, our children, actually need to be able to do for a world full of AI in the future? In this article, he describes why, while he doesn't let his young son use an iPad, he reads a book called "Programming for Babies" with him.

As a father, my perspective on technology is changing. Where once my smartphone was my constant companion, it's now a conscious decision—especially when our son is with us. In my view, this personal transformation reflects a societal debate that's currently gaining momentum: How do we prepare the next generation for an AI-driven world without exposing them to the dangers of excessive smartphone use ?

Since the birth of our son, I've been practicing something I call "digital mindfulness": I keep my smartphone away—at the playground, in the garden, while playing. What initially seemed like a sacrifice has long since become a gain. Children bring us back to the here and now. Instead of focusing on global politics, I make sure my kids don't eat bugs.

At the same time, technology is present in our home – but carefully. Alexa plays music or answers simple questions. Our robot vacuum is the best thing for our son: He turns it on himself, follows it around the room, and communicates with it – even though it can't speak yet.

For him, technology isn't a screen, but a roommate. His remote-controlled, Wall-E-like toy robot is more exciting to him than any cartoon. We've also observed this: Whenever we watched a movie, the remote control was more interesting than the film itself. It's the interaction with the device, not the content, that captivates him. He wants to create intuitively, not consume.

In general, we're drawn outside a lot. To the garden, the forest, and nature. Our son wants to move around, explore, dig, and balance there. He's never asked for an iPad. But we've never offered it to him either. And it works surprisingly well.

These experiences have fundamentally changed my perspective on parenting and education. My personal motto for our son is:

He must be able to make fire – and talk to machines.

Everything in between he will decide for himself.

We practice one by the fireplace. The other with a book called "Programming for Babies." While it seems playful, it has a serious core: Understanding simple logical concepts like AND and OR is increasingly becoming a basic skill – just like reading and writing once were. It's not about turning our children into programmers, but rather preparing them for a world where machines are not the exception, but the norm.

And this normality doesn't begin in professional life. It begins in the schoolyard.

Internationally, there is a growing realization that children need safe spaces at school. France banned smartphones for 3- to 15-year-olds back in 2018. The result: Students are running around again, playing cards, chatting—social space is returning.

In the Netherlands, after one year of a mobile phone ban, support among teachers increased significantly. Germany is also moving: Saxony introduced a mobile phone ban in elementary schools in 2025, and other federal states are following suit. An analysis by the University of Augsburg shows that social well-being is increasing and distractions in the classroom are decreasing – although the effects on learning performance remain moderate.

At the same time, another topic is becoming increasingly urgent: artificial intelligence. While we discuss TikTok in the schoolyard, many curricula lack any discussion of AI. 63 percent of German students say, "We don't learn enough about it." Sixty-nine percent consider AI skills important for their professional future.

Starting in the 2025/26 school year, Baden-Württemberg plans to make AI mandatory in the new subject "Computer Science and Media Education." It's a start—but we need more. We don't need digital pedagogy as a nice add-on, but as a cornerstone of modern education.

Because our children are growing up in a world where they will encounter machines – at home, in the classroom, and later in their jobs. The crucial question is not whether they will use AI , but how . Whether they will just use it – or understand it.

This is where we as parents come in. Studies show that 78 percent of parents consider themselves good role models when it comes to media use. At the same time, children in half of these households use their smartphones significantly longer than agreed. The discrepancy is obvious. Children learn through observation. If we scroll at the playground instead of listening, no screen time rule will help .

But not all parents have the awareness or resources to handle this responsibility. And this is where the state comes in. When individual responsibility fails, clear rules are needed – as with nutrition, health, or transportation. Measures that protect and programs that empower are needed.

So what to do?

1. Protection.

Mobile phone bans in schools – at least until 10th grade – make sense. Not as a technology-hostile measure, but as a temporary safe space for social development and concentration. Not staggered by age, but by grade level.

2. Competence.

AI, media, and data literacy must become a mandatory part of the curriculum—practical, age-appropriate, and regular. To achieve this, we need teachers with digital training and curricula that keep pace with reality.

3. Empower parents.

Initiatives like "Together online: Search.Find.Understand" demonstrate how families can develop digital skills together. Such programs must be systematically promoted and made widely accessible.

The future belongs to those who can both light fire and talk to machines. Our task is to prepare them for both – without fear of technology, but with a clear compass. The next generation doesn't need less technology, but more responsible use of it. And that starts with us – in the living room, in the garden, on the playground.