For parents and educators, the most critical digital literacy challenge of our time is not "using" AI—it is preventing these tools from hijacking every user's focus.
FAIRFAX, VA, February 24, 2026 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Large Language Models are marketed as helpers, but because they're built for "engagement retention," they persistently offer unsolicited "follow-up questions" to keep unsuspecting users following AI instead of directing AI.
When a student or child works on a task, AI's follow-up leading questions become interruptions that derail the user's train of thought. Every time an AI prompts a user- which in fact is a role reversal- it steers the conversation into a passive feedback loop. If we do not teach the next generation to treat these prompts as noise rather than guidance- or better still, how to eliminate them altogether -we effectively allow algorithms to dictate the inquiry's trajectory.
How To Lead AI So It Does Not Lead You.
• Define the Boundary: Establish the rules of engagement immediately. Input: "Omit all follow-up questions." That is a good start. You can also add "Answer the question only without further commentary."
• Enforce the Architecture: If the machine reverts to its default conversational persistence, see it for what it is: a structural bias in the model. Then, re-issue the constraint: "Omit all follow-up questions", or "Omit all commentary and follow-up questions."
• Retain Your Agency: Teach users that by stripping away these prompts, they reclaim their mental space. This keeps the AI in check—as a tool for the user, not a guide that diverts the user's attention away from their own train of thought. This retains the user's agency over AI.
This generation will either learn how to command these tools, or they will inevitably be led by them. Teaching a child to treat AI's follow-up questions as noisy interruptions is the most important "digital literacy" lesson of the day.
So, for homework: Stop following the machine's curiosity, and lead it with your own by including these effective inputs.
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