“Don’t Let Your Kid Become an AI Zombie" is a creative, dynamic effort to address a surging, universally relatable challenge. Of particular significance are Mr. Ashley’s clearly articulated, practical (yet adaptable) strategies, which will be of great — and welcome — use to families and professionals alike.
—David Harwitz, M.D., Child, Adolescent and Adult Psychiatrist
ENDORSEMENTS
Greg Louganis, Four-Time Olympic Gold Medalist
“The most important lesson I feel I had to learn was resilience. Dancing on the edge of success and failure. Taking the hard knocks of falling down and getting up again. In a world of AI created to flatter our kids instead of challenge them, Michael Ashley has written the fable every parent needs right now. It’s well worth the read.”
Sol Rashidi, Chief Strategy Officer, Cyera; World’s First Chief AI Officer
“Don’t Let Your Kid Become an AI Zombie is the first book I’ve read that treats struggle as a feature, not a bug. Read it yourself, read it to your kid, and apply the principles and practices to ensure we raise a generation of children who can still function with executive functions like critical thinking.”
Neil Patel, NYT Bestselling Author & Co-Founder of NP Digital
“Michael Ashley takes cognitive offloading, the very real threat of our AI age, and turns it into a compelling story families will actually read together. If you want to raise a thinker, not a zombie, start here.”
THE QUESTION FACING EVERY PARENT
How do we help our kids use AI, but not get used by it?
Our children are growing up with the most powerful technology humankind has ever known. It can say and do remarkable things that seemed like magic only a few years ago.
As time goes on, it’s tempting to rely on AI more and more, to the point that it becomes the ultimate crutch, crippling their ability to think and do for themselves.
Written by an AI insider and concerned parent, Don’t Let Your Kid Become an AI Zombie is a modern fable about protecting what makes our children human in an age of smart machines.
THE STORY
What if you suddenly took away all your child’s devices? Could they cope?
When four screen-dependent teens are sent to Camp No Signal, they expect punishment. Instead, they’re thrown into a series of challenges that force them to think for themselves, confront uncomfortable truths, and rediscover abilities they didn’t realize they lacked.
Don’t Let Your Kid Become an AI Zombie is a modern fable families can read together about how to reclaim what makes us human.
PRAISE
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John P. Calamos, Sr. Founder, Chairman and Global Chief Investment Officer of Calamos Investments
"I've said for years that you don't go to school to learn what to think. You go to learn how to think. Michael Ashley shows parents how to raise kids who can do exactly that in the age of AI."
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Kim Karr, Executive Director + Co-Founder, Digital4Good
Don’t Let Your Kid Become an AI Zombie is a timely and important book for parents and students navigating a world where technology is becoming an even bigger part of our everyday lives. Michael does an incredible job using relatable stories to get readers to pause, think, and ask important questions about how they use their devices and the choices they’re making. Rather than simply telling us what to do, he encourages us to think critically about our relationship with technology, and that is a message every family needs today, especially as AI continues to rapidly change the way we learn, communicate, and interact with the digital world.”
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John B. Stephens, Mayor of Costa Mesa
“I grew up in the Seventies and raised four children who are now 25 through 34 years old. These days, due to AI and other technical advancements, children and parents face challenges we could not have imagined. In his new book, Michael Ashley provides he practical guidance necessary to navigate through a changing world while preserving our children’s mental health and nurturing the personal relationships that provide support and joy. This book should be required reading for kids and adults.”
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Nathan Chappell, Chief AI Officer at Virtuous, founder of Fundraising. AI, and co-author of The Generosity Crisis
"Michael and I wrote The Generosity Crisis because human connection is becoming an endangered resource. His new fable shows parents how to protect it where it matters most: in our kids.”
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Joe Garner, six-time New York Times bestselling author of We Interrupt This Broadcast, whose books have sold more than 2 million copies
"As a father of two grown children, I've spent enough time around kids to grasp that the ones who end up thriving are often not the ones who had it easy. Instead, they're the ones who life pushed, corrected, and refused to let coast. Don’t Let Your Kid Become an AI Zombie reveals the risks of coddling our youth so that they become incapable of thinking and doing for themselves. Every parent I know needs to read this before their kid gets any older.”
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Johnny Rodriguez, Head Lacrosse Coach, Mater Dei High School, Founder, Athletes vs ALS, Father of Three
"As a parent and coach, what I appreciated most about this book is that it isn’t anti- technology — it’s pro-kid. It reminds us that our children still need to learn how to think for themselves, build genuine relationships, experience adversity, and develop the confidence to navigate the real world.”
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Mohammad Ehteshami, Former GE Aerospace VP of Engineering and Present Chairman/CEO of Beehive Industries
“My mother didn’t flatter me into becoming an engineer. Instead, she grabbed me by the ear in a pistachio field and told me I was going to make planes. That’s the kind of push today’s kids desperately need. Sadly, it’s getting rarer by the year now that we live in the Shortcut Society that Michael Ashley describes. Don’t Let Your Kid Become an AI Zombie reveals this truth through a powerful fable. You must read this book and tell others about it to prevent AI from becoming the crutch our kids depend on, one that cripples their prospects.”
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Tim Cortinovis, bestselling author of The Single-Handed Unicorn and global keynote speaker to over 250,000 attendees worldwide
“AI is all around us. It is challenging for us as adults. How can we expect our children to know how to deal with it? And how can we raise children with ubiquitous machines that mimic human behavior? Michael Ashley’s book shows parents exactly how to cope with this challenge.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Michael Ashley is a bestselling author, Forbes contributor, former Disney screenwriter, and professor with more than 60 books to his name. Several co-authored books tackle AI. Own the AI Revolution (McGraw Hill) launched at the United Nations' AI for Good Summit and was named a top business book by Soundview. Neuromined: Triumphing Over Tyranny (Fast Company) won Best Technology Book of the Year at the Indie Awards and sold in sixty Hudson News airport bookstores nationwide. He also created The AI Philosopher, a podcast and Substack exploring the intersection of technology, culture, storytelling, and what it means to be human.
He comes to this book as a father of two sons, watching AI reshape the world they're growing up in and worrying about their future. He's also concerned for every other child out there that is learning to offload the skills we once viewed as essential parts of being human to a machine. Don't Let Your Kid Become an AI Zombie reveals the problem we face and shows us a way out.
And it all begins with families talking to each other.
