Raising kids today means raising them alongside AI.
As parents, it’s natural to wonder: what value will our children have in the workforce of tomorrow? Will they be drowned out by machines, or will they learn to think, adapt and create in ways AI cannot?
That’s the backdrop for a little weekend experiment I did with my son, Benji.
From Simpsons gag to serious idea
Benji had been watching The Simpsons when he stumbled on the parody superhero Everyman. The idea stuck. He wanted to tell Everyman’s story in full – his origin, his powers and even a new villain bad enough to force the Marvel and DC Universes to unite.
Cue one of my first parenting lessons in intellectual property.🤦♂️ I explained why we couldn’t use the exact likeness of the Simpsons character. He was disappointed at first… but then something wonderful happened. He went into creative mode.
He kept the core premise – Everyman can absorb the powers of any hero by touching their comic – but made it his own. Suddenly, we weren’t copying. We were creating.
A dad, a kid and an AI co-pilot
We sat down and had a conversation. I asked leading questions:
- What’s Everyman’s background story?
- What are his powers? How is he different from Superman or Iron Man?
- Who’s the villain, and why are they so dangerous?
- What is the wider story arc?
Benji did the heavy lifting with his imagination. I just guided. We recorded the chat using an AIRHUG-01 speakerphone into FireFlies.AI to transcribe and summarise, and within an hour of play on ChatGPT, he had a script, a set of panels and even a first issue of a comic.
The skills behind the smiles
Yes, it was fun. Yes, there were typos, plot hiccups and even a bizarre father character who inexplicably changed from white to black between pages. But here’s what mattered:
- Storytelling: Benji learned about arcs, cliffhangers and character growth.
- Critical thinking: He had to make choices about what stayed from the Simpsons Everyman, and what became his own.
- Creativity: Faced with IP boundaries, he invented instead of imitated.
- Emotional literacy: We talked about loss, sacrifice and responsibility in his story.
- Collaboration: He experienced what it feels like to co-create with someone, or something.
These are not just comic book skills. They are life skills in an AI age.
Why this matters for parents
AI isn’t going away. Our kids will grow up with it in the background of every classroom, workplace and hobby. We can either fear it, or use it as a sandbox to build confidence, creativity and resilience.
Safeguarding our kids’ future isn’t only about shielding them from risks. It’s about helping them practice the timeless skills machines can’t replicate: imagination, originality and human connection.
So no, the comic isn’t perfect. But as of reading this post, Benji is a published comic book writer. And every time he flips through those pages, he’s reminded that his ideas matter.
That’s the story I want to tell my son.
This is the story Benji wants to tell the world.
Issue #1… EVERYMAN. The Last Son of Two Worlds.
