The AI Lesson in Stranger Things
It's rare that a show can capture the attention of kids and adults alike. But the magic of Stranger Things is its rare cross-generational appeal and unique focus on what it means to be human...
Over the holiday break, I’ve spent about as much time binging Stranger Things with my kids as I have spent thinking about where AI will take us in the year ahead. And in a funny way the two things started to converge…
Meaningful Message of Stranger Things
Stranger Things has always been a tale of resilience, self-sufficiency, personal agency, love, friendship, and bravery—and all within an analog world. But over the years these attributes have become even more top-of-mind as we wrestle with a world that’s increasingly automated.
Even more meaningful, in many ways, is how the show shines a light on the slowly disappearing bridge between adults’ memory of a youth spent without digital devices and the reality of our digitally-native kids’ existence.
It’s the cross-generational appeal of Stranger Things that makes it a great segue to conversations with our kids about deeper themes—like why our uniquely human attributes matter so much to the future.
Have We Forgotten?
The bigger challenge is not our kids listening, but how much we as adults have already forgotten. We are ourselves so entranced by technology that we don’t stop to remember why it mattered that we grew up without it.
We needed to learn how to navigate the world without constant adult surveillance or instant communication. We couldn’t avoid difficult conversations with friends, family, and teachers because there was no text, social media, or emails to hide behind. We also had to sometimes sit with the searing pain that came from extreme boredom or loneliness.
These are not meaningless memories. They are critical lessons to pass along to a younger generation. And I’m glad that we have this cultural moment in Stranger Things to think about it all.
Technology can continue to be a tool of human betterment, but only if we remember who we are without it…
Few AI Considerations for 2026
Having spent so much of 2025 thinking about AI, talking to schools and families, and digging into research, I have some thoughts about the year ahead. Here are just a few of my top ones:
1) Nobody Has the Answer
AI has been around in principle and practice for decades, advancing in fits and starts in the years since the term was first coined in 1956. And while generative AI has been notable for its consumer-facing interface and incredible progress, the foundations of AI technology have been with us for a very long time.
We are not wrestling with something new but instead coming to terms with the great opportunity we’ve already invested ourselves in creating (whether we knew it or not). We are also now dealing with the consequences the tradeoffs we’ve already made.
The problem is that we want so badly for there to be a right and wrong answer here, but there isn’t one and there won’t ever be. The good news, though, is we are in a new age of autonomy and independence and that’s something to celebrate.
2) Obvious Alliances Won’t Exist Anymore
Social media has made it far too easy for us as adults to lazily decide issues based on digital-era tribalism all the while hiding behind a screen.
We’ve convinced ourselves that it just takes hitting “like” and aligning ourselves with the platform, person, politician, or friend that “seems to think” like we do.
But AI is starting to scramble it all. How we live with this new technology will touch every one of us. And unlike many of the issues we argue about these days this one is deeply personal for each of us.
You might find yourself disagreeing with your friends while on the same page with political leaders who you didn’t seem compatible with previously. There is no AI policy “big tent.” Neither party has a platform that is fully thought out or defensible, or that seems like an obvious fit for the party.
And that’s great news, because going forward, it’s humans vs. machines, and we need to get more comfortable with figuring out what AI means to us individually and based on issues not ideology.
3) More Control Than We Think
If you’ve watched Pluribus on Apple TV (I highly recommend it), you’ll appreciate the nod to an idea of AI gone amok—or even just how lazy the digital world has made us.
Carol is just one of a handful of humans not sucked into the “hivemind,” but she has a choice whether or not to join them (well, mostly—there’s a twist at season’s end).
However hard, messy or uncomfortable it is, Carol has to decide. And it’s very much the same with all of us—we have a choice regarding the path we take here.
One reason for this is that Big Tech hasn’t fully “commercialized” its generative AI offering. The amount of money being poured into the space doesn’t come close to equaling the revenue being recouped on the back end. And that’s a problem for them and an opportunity for us. It puts consumers in a powerful position to choose what we hand over in data, what we choose to use and pay for, and what we advocate for in terms of policy.
In the days of social media, web search, or e-commerce, we got locked in and immediately turned into revenue as digital advertising alone was impossible to escape. But for now, it’s different. We need to use, trust, and like AI tools and platforms for companies to balance out their investment.
This risk is part of why the AI “bubble” may burst, and it should remind us how much control we do have.
4) Fight the Good Fight With Facts
Another great disservice that’s come from an online advertising ecosystem flourishing in our lives is the effect it’s had on fact-finding and the way it has toyed with our emotions.
We so easily fall prey to the way Big Tech pushes our buttons. We don’t seek to go deeper but instead jump right to the “easy” answer. This politician or that one is doing something terrible. Just because. This or that happens and we say they are bad or good. Just because.
We so infrequently ask “why” without judgment or emotion. And it’s not because “our country is divided”—it’s because companies make money when we get worked up. And AI is going to make it far worse to manipulate, divide and coerce us. We need to stick to the facts and resist the emotional pokes.
5) Consider with Care AI’s Benefits
Similar to the last point, we also too easily dismiss AI out of hand for reasons we may not have fully explored ourselves. I covered this a bit last week, and it bears repeating: We must understand what we’re talking about when we want to “pause” or “ban” AI. It’s not one thing, and as I’ve mentioned many times, it’s also everything—a digital reality we’ve lived with for years and years now.
I have heard stories repeatedly where the biggest and most immediate impact of AI has been on communities that are low on resources. AI has accelerated progress in ways that these schools and communities want to continue to benefit from.
Similarly, kids with disabilities have benefited from technology that gives them the chance to be back in the classroom with their peers. There are many stories like this, and we should support everyone’s right to access the technology that benefits their individual circumstance and community.
What about safety? About privacy? Those things are paramount. But if our current laws and regulations do the work they’re designed to do, then their application to AI should be no different. And if policy needs adjusting, then we need to get in and work together to get it done.
The bigger point that ends where I started with Stranger Things is this: We have way more autonomy and control over what happens next than we think. But it won’t be easy or tidy. And families need to do it together.
Happy New Year! Look forward to discussing AI in more detail in 2026!