Raising Thinkers in an AI World: Why Struggle Still Matters

If our kids can ask a chatbot for every answer, what happens to their ability to think? To struggle? To wrestle with an idea long enough for it to shape them? Wayne Stender and Dr. Kathy Koch dig into the hidden cost of growing up in an AI-accelerated world. They explore research showing how automation is changing workplaces and may be changing the cognitive wiring of the next generation. Wayne shares a classroom moment where students traded screens for paper and suddenly came alive, wrestling through ideas, searching for their own words, and discovering the power of slow thinking. Dr. Kathy explains why struggle isn't failure, it's formation. Kids who push through discomfort develop creativity, discernment, people-skills, and self-efficacy, traits that technology cannot automate and AI cannot produce. Together they ask the question every parent now faces: Are we raising kids who can think deeply, connect relationally, and lead wisely in a world that wants to think for them? This rich conversation offers hope—and practical insight—for families who want their kids to be more than consumers of answers. They want them to become thinkers, creators, friends, leaders, disciples, and whole people.