★ A comic-style guide for children aged 6–12 on thriving in the AI era. It follows Dong Dong, a schoolboy who receives an AI robot as a mysterious gift, and explores the 16 core skills kids need most—from fact-checking and asking precise questions to independent thinking and creativity—each illustrated through real-life scenarios children encounter daily.
★ Author Fan Deng is one of China’s most trusted reading advocates, founder of the Fanshu app (formerly Fan Deng Reading) with over 80 million registered users. A former CCTV host and visiting professor at Xi‘an Jiaotong University, he has published multiple bestselling books.
★ The book uses a four-step learning method: comic scenario → problem analysis → skill building → interactive game. With 800+ cartoons and an appendix tracing 82 years of AI development, it makes complex concepts accessible.
★ Its core message speaks directly to parents’ deepest worry: “If AI can do everything, what’s left for my child?” The answer isn‘t more knowledge—it’s skills AI lacks: questioning, judgment, empathy, and creativity.
★ “The future gap between people will be defined by how well they use AI.”

Dong Dong, a primary school student, receives a mysterious gift—an AI humanoid robot. Excitedly, he begins exploring its abilities: searching for information, writing essays, planning trips, designing posters… But he soon discovers that AI is not as “omnipotent” as it seems. The information it provides contradicts itself, its speeches sound like bureaucrats‘ reports, and its travel plans don’t fit his family at all.
With Fan Deng‘s guidance, Dong Dong comes to understand: AI is not an “answer machine” but a tool that must be used properly. Every problem becomes a learning opportunity—to ask better questions, to judge truth from falsehood, and to transform AI’s raw material into his own work.
Each of the 16 chapters starts with a real-life scenario from Dong Dong‘s world, presented in comics, followed by “Teacher Fan’s explanation” of the underlying AI principles and the skill being developed. An appendix on AI milestones from 1943 to today helps build a complete understanding of technological progress.
This book won‘t turn children into AI engineers—it will help them become people who master tools without being mastered by them: people who question, judge, and create.

Fan Deng is the founder and Chief Content Officer of the Fanshu app (formerly Fan Deng Reading), a former CCTV host, and a visiting professor at Xi‘an Jiaotong University.
In 2013, he launched Fan Deng Reading (rebranded as Fanshu in 2023) to help users read efficiently through book summaries. By 2026, the Fanshu app had surpassed 80 million registered users, with over 120 million followers across social media platforms.
Fan Deng is passionate about Chinese classics and has published bestselling comic adaptations such as Fan Deng’s Comics: The Analects and Fan Deng‘s Comics: Mencius. He combines deep knowledge of classical wisdom with a genuine understanding of children and education, aiming to guide young readers through life’s challenges.
The Fanshu team, founded in 2013 and launching its app in 2015, offers book summaries, online courses, community learning, and physical bookstores. They have summarized over 1,500 books, dedicated to making complex knowledge accessible to all.

Character Introduction
Dong Dong‘s Mysterious Gift

1. Why Is the Information I Get from AI Sometimes Wrong?
Practical Skill 1: Fact-Checking Ability
2. Why Doesn’t the Speech AI Wrote Sound Natural?
Practical Skill 2: Precise Questioning
3. Why Can‘t AI Make the Poster I Want, Even Though It’s So Smart?
Practical Skill 3: Needs Analysis
4. Why Doesn‘t AI’s Travel Plan Suit My Family?
Practical Skill 4: Information Filtering and Processing
5. Why Can‘t AI Tell That My Best Friend Is Still Angry with Me?
Practical Skill 5: Emotional Perception
6. I Asked AI for Help—So Why Was My Event Still a Mess?
Practical Skill 6: Organization and Coordination
7. Why Can’t AI Help Me Overcome My Difficulties?
Practical Skill 7: Anti-Fragility
8. Why Can‘t I Solve the Exam Question Even After Memorizing AI’s Formula?
Practical Skill 8: Logical Thinking
9. Why Does AI Sometimes Misidentify Species?
Practical Skill 9: Independent Thinking
10. Understanding Connections Between Knowledge Helps You Use AI Better!
Practical Skill 10: Systematic Learning
11. Does AI‘s Knowledge Expire Too?
Practical Skill 11: Cognitive Updating
12. Why Didn’t My Tomatoes Grow Well Even with AI‘s Planting Advice?
Practical Skill 12: Experience Transfer
13. Why Can’t My AI-Based Solution Fully Solve the Problem?
Practical Skill 13: Root-Cause Thinking
14. Why Didn‘t I Feel Happy Even After Winning with AI’s Help?
Practical Skill 14: Moral Judgment
15. Why Does My Teacher Say AI-Assisted Art Lacks Emotion?
Practical Skill 15: Creative Thinking
16. Is the Future AI Plans for Me Really What I Want?
Practical Skill 16: Meaning-Making

Appendix: AI Milestones
Answers

Dear Young Reader,
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming a part of every aspect of our lives. Do you want to understand it better and master it? It can solve math problems, tell stories, and even turn your imagination into images. But along the way, we need to learn not just how to use AI, but how to become its “little master”—making this powerful tool serve us.
To help you grow confidently in the AI age, we’ve prepared 16 key skills. They are like steps that lead you upward—from basic fact-checking and precise questioning, to independent thinking, and finally to creative collaboration with AI. These skills are divided into three levels: foundational, intermediate, and advanced. Each is a vital tool for your future.
These skills are not abstract; they’re practical. For example, when you ask AI for travel advice, “information filtering” helps you choose the best option; when you ask AI to design a poster, “needs analysis” helps you express your ideas more clearly. Gradually, you’ll find that you can not only use AI proficiently but also guide it to spark new ideas together.
AI is like a magic paintbrush—but what it paints depends on your wisdom and creativity. So let’s open this book and master your “superpowers.” Be a little explorer who thinks and creates!
— Your growth partner, Teacher Fan