A recent study published in *Trends in Cognitive Sciences* highlights a significant difference between how children and artificial intelligence (AI) systems learn language. The research indicates that if a human learned language at the same rate as ChatGPT, it would take them 92,000 years.
The study, led by Professor Caroline Rowland of the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, in collaboration with researchers from the ESRC LuCiD Centre in the UK, provides a new framework to explain this disparity. Children learn language through an active, evolving process shaped by their social, cognitive, and motor skills.
Children use all their senses to understand the world and develop language skills. This embodied, interactive learning allows children to master language more efficiently than AI. Professor Rowland stated, "AI systems process data... but children really live it."
These findings influence our understanding of early childhood development and the future of AI design. Researchers aim to create machines that learn language as effectively as humans by studying human language acquisition.
In conclusion, AI systems, despite their ability to process large amounts of data, are less efficient than young children in acquiring natural language. This research emphasizes the importance of a rich, varied, and social environment for children in their early years.