Generative artificial intelligence and the ecology of human development
Carlo Schuengel and Alastair van Heerden
Abstract
Commercial applications of artificial intelligence (AI) in the form of Large Language Models (LLMs) and Generative AI have taken centre stage in the media sphere, business, public policy, and education. The ramifications for the field of child psychology and psychiatry are being debated and veer between LLMs as potential models for development and applications of generative AI becoming environmental factors for human development. This Editorial briefly discusses developmental research on generative AI and the potential impact of generative AI on the hybrid social world in which young people grow up. We end by considering that the rapid developments justify increasing attention in our field.
We hope you enjoy the full editorial of this Issue, which is free on the Wiley Online Library.
Professor Carlo Schuengel is an associate editor for JCPP, a full profile can be found here.
Alastair van Heerden– Center for Community Based Research, Human Sciences Research Council, Pietermaritzburg.
