As families prepare for another school year, artificial intelligence is becoming part of the back-to-school conversation. Parents and teachers are trying to determine how students should use AI, while students are already experimenting with tools that can help them study, organize assignments and complete everyday tasks.
The challenge is finding the balance between using AI as a learning tool and becoming dependent on it.
Entrepreneur and attorney Sean Callagy, founder of Actualized Intelligence (ACTi), believes AI should empower people rather than replace them. His approach focuses on practical ways families, students and professionals can use the technology while continuing to develop critical thinking, creativity and communication skills.
For parents, one of the biggest questions is whether children should be using AI for homework. Rather than treating the technology as an automatic answer machine, Callagy advocates teaching students how to use AI responsibly—as a tool for brainstorming, explaining difficult concepts, organizing information and practicing skills.
That distinction could become increasingly important as AI becomes more common in education and the workplace. Students entering school today will eventually enter careers where knowing how to work with AI may be as important as traditional digital skills.
Callagy’s perspective is shaped by an unconventional career. After losing his eyesight as a teenager, he went on to become a trial attorney and entrepreneur before turning his attention to practical applications of artificial intelligence. Through ACTi, he works with professionals and organizations seeking ways to use AI to improve productivity, communication and efficiency.
For busy families, AI can also extend beyond the classroom. Parents can use AI to help organize schedules, develop meal plans, create shopping lists, plan trips and brainstorm ideas for managing household responsibilities.
The technology can also be useful for small businesses and working professionals. AI can help prepare for meetings, develop marketing ideas, organize information and improve client communications, potentially freeing up time for work that requires human judgment and relationships.
But convenience comes with responsibility. Parents may need to establish clear rules around when children can use AI, what information they should share and when they should complete assignments independently. Students also need to understand that an AI-generated answer is not necessarily accurate.
The goal, Callagy argues, is not to keep families away from AI but to teach them how to use it intelligently.
As a new school year begins, that may be one of the most important lessons parents can give their children: AI can be a powerful tool, but the ability to think, question, create and make decisions remains distinctly human.