🌍 My 8-year-old used AI to research an earthquake that impacted our family in Colombia today. Here's what happened.
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Happy Sunday folks! Here’s what we’ve been working on.
My brother-in-law video called us from Colombia today saying they were woken by an earthquake tremor this morning. Mateo (8) overheard the conversation and got worried. What makes the ground shake? Is my 'tio' safe? Could it happen here in Ireland?
I'd just downloaded an app called Askie, a voice AI companion built specifically for kids aged 3-15. COPPA compliant, no ads, no external links. I figured this was a good first test.
Mateo opened the app, tapped "Let's Talk," and started asking about earthquakes. The AI explained tectonic plates in language he could follow.
It covered fault lines, how earthquakes are measured, and why Colombia has more seismic activity than Ireland. Then, without any prompting from us, it generated an image of tectonic plates to illustrate what it was explaining.
Here's the part that caught me off guard. When Mateo mentioned he was worried about his 'tio' (uncle), the AI's tone changed. It acknowledged his concern, reassured him that most tremors are minor, and gently moved back to the science. Fifteen minutes later he was explaining plate tectonics to Maria.
So I tested it with all three kids.
Maria (6): picked a cat avatar and started chatting about animals. She got bored within a few minutes but when I prompted the AI to quiz her on animals she was hooked. Worked through safari animals, then asked to switch to Irish animals. The AI adapted instantly, quizzing her on red foxes and Irish hares. 10-15 minutes of solid engagement.
Conor (3): picked a panda and chose dinosaurs. He was hesitant at first. But once the AI started telling him T-Rex facts, he was smiling. Speech recognition struggled with his pronunciation (which is a little behind for his age) and he had to repeat himself a few times. When we tried to stop the session, he protested - he loved it and wanted more.
The Details:
Time per session: 10-20 minutes
Cost: Free tier available, $9.99/month for Premium
Best for: Ages 5-10 (quiz mode is the sweet spot for 5-8)
What worked: Quiz mode, age-adaptive vocabulary, emotional intelligence
What didn’t: Speech recognition for ages 3-4, colouring page generation needs specific prompting
Good news - I've manage to secure an exclusive deal for this community. Use the code NIALLAITOOLSFORKIDS in the app to get 2 weeks of free Premium access. To redeem: open Askie, tap on the paywall, scroll past the FAQ area, tap “More Options,” then “Redeem Promo Code.”
🍌 Nano Banana 2 launched this week. I've done some playing about with it. Some early observations is it is significantly better at image editing, improved at reasoning and storyboarding, and much cheaper to use, though it still struggles with complex text-heavy images.
Google Gemini got a major update to version 3.1 Pro. Better at helping with homework, it can now process YouTube videos and uploaded textbook photos. We’ve updated our review with what parents need to know and will share more after family testing next week.
Busy week ahead. Nano Banana 2 and Gemini testing with the kids, plus a couple of new blog posts in the pipeline.
