Intergenerational AI Literacy in Korean Immigrant Families: Interpretive Gatekeeping Meets Convenient Critical Deferment

TL;DR

This study explores how Korean immigrant families in the US navigate AI tools through interpretive gatekeeping and strategic deferment, revealing AI literacy as a relational, culturally embedded practice.

Contribution

It introduces a new conceptual framework for intergenerational AI literacy that emphasizes family negotiation and cultural context, extending beyond skills-based models.

Findings

Parents mediate AI use through cultural and ethical values.

Teens strategically defer critical evaluation for immediate benefits.

Family practices shape AI literacy as a relational, ongoing process.

Abstract

As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes deeply integrated into family life, immigrant families must navigate unique intergenerational, linguistic, and cultural challenges. This study examines how Korean immigrant families in the United States negotiate the use of AI tools such as ChatGPT and smart assistants in their homes. Through 20 semi-structured interviews with parents and teens, we identify two key practices that shape their engagement: interpretive gatekeeping, where parents mediate their children's AI use through a lens of cultural and ethical values, and convenient critical deferment, where teens strategically postpone critical evaluation of AI for immediate academic and social utility. These intertwined practices challenge conventional, skills-based models of AI literacy, revealing it instead as a dynamic and relational practice co-constructed through ongoing family negotiation. We contribute to information science and HCI by offering a new conceptual extension for intergenerational AI literacy and providing design implications for more equitable, culturally attuned, and family-centered AI systems.