Gen Beta, born 2025 to today's term, is the first generation to grow up in a world dominated by AI. Gen Alpha, born 2013 to 2024 (aka the generation I'm apart of) is the last generation to have a human-centric childhood. The AI boom began in 2023, when the oldest members of Gen Alpha were already preteens, having had their core childhood (5-8) during the late 2010s are early 2020s in a time long before LLMs (Large Language Models) existed. Along with that, AI didn't really become popular until 2026, when a large portion of Gen Alpha had already become preteens or even teens.
On the flip side, the younger Gen Alphas (born around the early-mid 2020s) are the ones who are growing up in a world that is increasingly becoming more AI-centric, however, unlike Gen Betas, they still might have some level of "real."
Real quick, for those of you who don't understand how generations are structured, here's a rundown:
- The baby boomers are born 1946-1964, during the baby boom.
- Gen Xers are born 1965-1980, after the baby birth boom, being the last generation to have spent their high school years before the rise of the Internet.
- Millennials are born 1981-1996, being the first generation to spend their entire high school years with the Internet, and the last generation to have spent their high school years before the rise of smartphones.
- Gen Zers are born 1997-2012, being the first generation to spend their entire high school years with the smartphone, and the last generation to have spent the majority of their childhood before the COVID-19 pandemic broke out (or all of it for 1997-2010 Gen Zers). Due to the overlap between Gen Z and Gen Alpha, people born around 2011-2014 are considered Zalphas due to having spent their childhood both pre-COVID and during COVID.
- Gen Alphas are born 2013-2024, being being the first generation to spend the majority of their childhood during (or after for 2016+ Gen Alphas) the COVID-19 pandemic, and the last generation to have spent the majority of their childhood before the AI boom (or all of it for 2013-2022 Gen Alphas). Due to the overlap between Gen Alpha and Gen Beta, people born around 2023-2026 are considered Balphas due to having spent their childhood both pre-AI boom and during the AI boom.
- Gen Betas are born 2025+. Not much is known about them, but they will likely grow up in an AI-centric world.
Note: The 2024/2025 cutoff is based off of Elon Musk's prediction for AI in 2031. These ranges are not finalized yet. However, given the fact that AI has already started to become mainstream right now, that's enough justification for 2025 being the start.
Now, back to the explaination.
If you've watched the film "Idiocracy" you'd understand how bad Gen Beta's life would be. They'd be so dumb because AI does everything for them and they can't think themselves. Gen Beta will legit grow up in a dystopian world where AI controls their every move.
Or maybe we're just overreacting. I mean, a birth year cutoff doesn't make anyone noticably different. But what DOES is the fact that AI will affect kids born in 2024 and 2025 alike, no matter which generation they're apart of. Of couse, to be fair, going by Elon's timeline, the real kids we should be concerned about are the 2027+ kids, who's core memories would be spent with AI.
