Scene One: Dad Has a Plan

First week of summer. My 14-year-old is auditioning for the role of “Professional Sleeper Until Noon.” Meanwhile, I’m remembering last summer’s $200 worth of craft supplies used exactly once fiasco.

Time for a new strategy.

“Hey buddy,” I said over breakfast, radiating false confidence. “Want to learn about AI this summer? I can teach you ChatGPT!”

He looked up from his cereal. “Sure, Dad.”

Perfect. Educational project: ✓
Father–son bonding: ✓
Me looking like I understand modern tech: ✓✓✓

Narrator voice: He did not, in fact, understand modern technology.

Scene Two: Twenty Minutes of Glory

That afternoon, I kicked off Lesson One of Dad Teaches Son About the Future.

“So, you go to chat.openai.com,” I began, professor hat firmly on. “Then you ask it to write emails or help with presentations.”

I demonstrated my two ChatGPT tricks with the confidence of a man who watched three YouTube tutorials.

My son nodded politely. Then: “Cool. Can I try?”

Twenty minutes later, he had:

• Built a progressive workout plan
• Generated Python code for a game (IT CODES??)
• Asked for a rap song in the style of his favorite artist
• Got quantum physics explained in plain English

Meanwhile, I sat there blinking like an unplugged Alexa.

“Want me to show you some other AI tools?” he asked casually.

Other tools? I was still on tutorial #3.

Scene Three: The Great Role Reversal

Suddenly, my “AI curriculum” became “Dad’s crash course in humility.”

He introduced me to:

• Claude (ChatGPT has siblings?)
• Midjourney (AI makes art now?!)
• ElevenLabs (AI voices that sound terrifyingly real)
• Character.AI (chat with Napoleon—for reasons unclear)

Each reveal was met with the same reaction: jaw drop, confused parent noises, and me mumbling, “How did you even know this existed?”

His answer? “I saw it online. It’s really not that complicated, Dad.”

(Every teen’s favorite phrase.)

Scene Four: The Party Planning Test

Fast-forward three weeks. I was stressing about planning a party —around 30 friends, five diets, and a buddy who always brings his dog.

“Why don’t we ask AI to help?” my son suggested.

“Ask AI what?”

One hour later, we had surveys, schedules, age-appropriate activities, and even a shopping list organized by store aisle.

I stared at the screen. “This is… actually useful.”

“Yeah, Dad. That’s kind of the point.”

Scene Five: The Plot Twist

By the end of summer, I realized something: AI isn’t about memorizing commands or cramming tutorials. It’s about throwing real-life problems at it and seeing what sticks.

My son brought fearless curiosity: “Let’s just try it.”

I brought practicality: “But will this actually help us?”

Turns out, that combo works pretty well.

As school started, he dropped this wisdom bomb:

“Dad, other parents probably struggle like you did. And other kids don’t know how to explain it the way I just did with you.”

That was the spark for AI Made Easier. What started as a backfiring summer project became a father–son mission: make AI less scary, more useful, and way less tech-bro.

The Bottom Line

Three months later, I still learn AI tricks from my son. He still learns strategy from me. Together, we built something more valuable than an app or a prompt generator: a team.

And if a regular working dad can survive “AI 101 with his teenager,” trust me—you can learn this stuff too.

Even if I still don’t know why he needed AI to write a song about the dog. Some mysteries should stay unsolved.