At a Houston ISD school, first graders visualize future careers using AI, letting students emotionally connect with their aspirations.
HOUSTON — First-grade students at The School at St. George Place in Houston ISD are getting a glimpse of their future selves through artificial intelligence, as their teacher uses ChatGPT to transform childhood career dreams into realistic images of what the students might look like in their chosen professions.
The students’ aspirations range from traditional to unique. One student wants to be “a scuba diver, because I want to discover the sea.” Another child dreams of becoming “a Youtuber.” Hermes has set his sights on becoming a neurologist, explaining, “If anybody breaks their brain I can fix it.”
The children then wrote down their dream job in a journal and drew pictures of themselves as nurses, engineers, and artists.
But Teacher Sadiya Ishaq took things one step further.
“I took a little photo of you guys, and I put it in AI in ChatGPT, and I made images of your future self,” Ishaq explained to her class.
The project, inspired by a social media trend called “career doll,” has resonated deeply with students, parents, and the broader school community.
When the AI-generated images were revealed, the emotional impact was immediate. Kayla, who wants to be a doctor, wiped away a tear when she saw her future self. The realistic quality of the images has impressed both students and parents.
“It’s so believable that can be them in the future. This can be my reality,” said one parent, comparing the AI projections to traditional crayon drawings from her own childhood.
For Ishaq, who has been teaching for 10 years, the project serves a deeper purpose beyond just fun.
“Our school is also 50% Title One school, and a lot of our students don’t have certain role models around the community.”
Ms. Ishaq has wanted to be a teacher since she was 7. She became emotional talking about it.
“When you just asked when I what I wanted to be when I grow up, and I thought about my mom and that was my role model,” she said.
The teacher also recorded each student reading their career choice and why. She generated a QR code for the voice recordings and printed it out on each of the student’s picture of their future self.
Laila, who wants to be a singer, recorded: “When I grow up I wanted to be a singer because I can sing from my heart.” Then she belted out the refrain, “This girl is on fire.”
The project particularly moved parents who see their children in a new light. Maya’s father, Noe, became emotional seeing his daughter’s image as a police officer. “My baby wants to be a police officer,” he said. Maya explained her choice simply: “Cuz I can help the community.”
For young Hermes, the neurologist-to-be, the AI image represents something permanent and meaningful. When asked what he would do with his picture, he replied, “I’m gonna keep it for the rest of my life.” He explained that he wants to remember “myself when I was a kid” and think about “my teacher who made it for the whole class.”