Almost all of the first eighty-odd readers of my new WeChat publication, "Growing with AI," came through my mom.

They did not arrive through an algorithm's recommendations or paid promotion. My mom introduced the new account to her classmates and friends.

It started simply. A few days earlier, I had mentioned to her that once the new account reached 100 followers, I could enable paid content.

I said it in passing and did not expect her to take it so much to heart. She began actively spreading the word, reconnecting with classmates and friends she did not usually speak to very often. Before long, the follower count in the dashboard had risen past 80.

I had thought that starting this account was just another experiment of my own. Only later did I realize that the first change it brought was not greater efficiency or more income. It gave my mom, who is not very sociable, a reason to reconnect with friends, and brought parents who rarely took part in my work into my creative life of their own accord for the first time.

After fourteen years of freelancing, my parents stepped inside for the first time

I have been a freelancer for more than ten years.

Over that time, I have painted, written, run my own media accounts, and tried many different things. My parents knew what I was doing, but rarely took an active part, much less promoted it for me.

This time was different.

My mom not only made a real effort to introduce the account but also passed along her friends' feedback. After reading an article, someone told her, "Your son is quite talented."

Of course she was delighted, though she also added a little pressure for me.

She reminded me, "Make sure the writing is good. They are all thoughtful, knowledgeable people."

When my dad heard about it, he sent a voice message specifically to say that he would actively help spread the word too.

Hearing that, I was no longer most concerned with how many followers the account had gained. What mattered was that, after more than ten years of freelancing, my parents were supporting what I was doing in such a clear, active way for the first time.

In the past, they had mostly stood alongside, watching me paint, write, and run my accounts. This time, they were no longer only observers. They had actually joined in.

That feeling was precious.

It felt like a belated chance to stand shoulder to shoulder. I had finally found something my parents could understand and were willing to help with. Through this new account, they could also see more concretely what I had been doing all these years.

AI's first connections are not only with machines

My mom is not someone who especially enjoys keeping up with people. Without a specific reason, she probably would not suddenly contact a classmate she had not spoken to for a long time.

Sometimes a relationship has not disappeared. It simply lacks a reason to start up again.

An unexpected "How have you been?" can feel a little forced to both people. But when there is something concrete between them, getting in touch feels natural.

"My son has started a new WeChat publication about AI. Would you like to have a look?"

With that as a starting point, people can discuss the articles, talk about what their children have been doing, and follow the subject of AI into their own understanding of new technology and changes in daily life.

That helped me see another kind of value in AI.

We often discuss how AI helps people write articles, make images, analyze data, and work more efficiently. This time, though, it had barely taught my mom how to use any tools before it helped her reconnect with people.

It did not directly complete a task for her. It gave her a reason to take a step toward someone.

Technology offered a new topic, and she used that topic to reconnect with people from her past.

AI's first connections are not always between people and machines. They can also be between people: between parents and children, or old classmates who have not been in frequent contact for years.

When people talk about AI, many instinctively think of it as a tool for the young, for programmers, or for people in the workplace.

Younger people tend to adopt new things more quickly and are familiar with phones and software. Older people are often more cautious about new technology, and can easily seem to be placed outside the AI era.

But I increasingly feel that what our parents' generation lacks may not be the ability to learn. It may be a way in that actually relates to their own lives.

If we begin by asking them to study models, prompts, and agents, of course it will seem unfamiliar and complicated. Start with a concrete question from daily life, and AI is no longer so distant.

If they want to travel, AI can help organize a route. If they want to learn photography, painting, or a foreign language, it can explain complicated ideas patiently. If they want to sort through old family photographs, they can begin by telling the stories behind them.

Even reading an article about AI, forwarding it to their child, and asking, "Would this be useful to you?" is already a way of taking part in this era.

Using AI does not mean having to become a technology expert. Being willing to learn a little, ask a question, or try solving a small problem in everyday life is already a beginning.

So I am reluctant to urge my parents' generation to learn AI by warning that they will "fall behind the times" or "be left obsolete."

What matters is not forcing everyone to keep the same pace. It is helping each person find, within their own life, a reason they want to move forward.

Those first eighty-odd people are more than traffic

I also want to use this article to thank each of the aunties and uncles who first followed "Growing with AI."

Your follows might be a small number for an established WeChat publication. But for an account just beginning, they gave it its first confidence.

You were willing to follow because you trusted my mom. By continuing to read, giving her feedback, and even sharing the articles with your own children, you passed that trust on to me.

That is a precious chain of trust.

You are not a string of numbers there to help me reach 100 followers, nor merely the first spectators of this account. You have all helped it begin.

Whether "Growing with AI" goes on to reach 100 followers, 1,000, or somewhere further, I will remember that my mom brought the first eighty-odd people.

You have given me more than follows. You have reminded me that, if people of different ages are going to read these articles, I cannot only chase new tools and trends. Nor can I fill the writing with terms that only technology professionals understand.

I hope that the experiences and thoughts about AI I share from now on will offer something to younger readers, while also making sense to my parents' generation and helping them genuinely feel that AI has a place in their own lives.

I took my mom's words about her friends being thoughtful, knowledgeable people to heart. They brought a little pressure, but also made the responsibility of running this account well feel concrete to me for the first time.

Growing together does not mean one generation chasing another

Previously, I understood "Growing with AI" mainly as the new abilities, forms of expression, and possibilities people develop through working with AI.

This time, I discovered another meaning of "growing together." It need not mean only AI and me. It can also mean a family coming to understand one another again because of AI.

Younger people may be more familiar with new tools. Our parents' generation has life experience, judgment, and relationships and trust accumulated over many years.

I can help my parents understand a little about AI, and they can support me in the ways they know best.

This is not about who teaches whom, or who catches up with whom. Two generations are bringing what each has, and helping something move forward together.

My mom's friends can learn about AI through my articles and share anything useful with their children. Younger readers can also send the articles to their parents, helping them see that AI is not as distant as it might seem.

It does not have to enter life as a grand trend.

It can begin with an article, a forwarded post, or a real question. It can also begin with, "My son wrote this. Would you like to read it?"

My mom brought the new account its first eighty-odd readers.

For a WeChat publication, eighty-odd is only a beginning. For me, though, it has already shown something:

When AI enters our lives, the first change may not be in work efficiency. It may be a long-awaited step closer to another person.

Finally, thank you, Mom. Thank you, Dad. And thank you to every auntie and uncle who first followed this account. You have not simply come to watch a new account. You have already taken part in the beginning of "Growing with AI."