Watch Out! Simon Cowell Reveals His Mini-Me Son Eric's Already a Great Critic

He may be only 2 years old, but Eric Cowell is most definitely following in his famous dad’s footsteps.

Asked about his mini-me son, Simon Cowell boasts that not only does Eric have him wrapped around his little finger, but he already shows an aptitude for talent show judging,

“He’s the world’s cutest little boy,” the America’s Got Talent judge, 56, tells PEOPLE exclusively. “I’ve got to tell you, he’s going to be my little right-hand man — anything he likes I like.”

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“He’s brilliant, he comes down to the auditions and really enjoys the acts. He’s very good to watch, funnily enough, because I can see when he’s bored and when he’s up dancing. He’s a good critic already. He’s unpaid, but he’s helping me!”

Eric even loves pressing the famous AGT red buzzers. “The other day when I was going to work, I said, ‘What does Daddy do for a job?’ ” Cowell recalls. “And he said, ‘You push buzzers!’ I was like, ‘That’s it then?’ ”

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For Cowell, life with Eric and girlfriend Lauren Silverman, 38, could not be more different than his old bachelor lifestyle.

Asked about how his notoriously pristine white houses are faring with a child, Cowell replies: “Along with our pet dogs Squiddly, Diddly and Freddy, let’s just say the carpet business is a great business to be in right now.”

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Joining Heidi Klum, Mel B and Howie Mandel on the judging panel for the new season of the NBC hit America’s Got Talent, Cowell, the show’s creator, admits to some nerves.

“What was funny was that I felt like the new boy on AGT because these guys have worked together for so long,” he says. “They kept kidding that I was the boss. I thought they were the boss and I was the new boy who’s gone to a new school and hoped they liked me.”

He adds, “Actually we got on brilliantly — it was much, much easier than I thought it was going to be.”

For more from Cowell on the new season of America’s Got Talent, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday.

— Sara Nathan