AI, Children’s Rights, & Wellbeing: Transnational Frameworks

As data-intensive technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), become more commonplace, children are being impacted from birth and over the course of their lives. However, research is currently scarce when considering a comparative view of existing frameworks relating to AI, children’s rights, and wellbeing. Our research aims to fill this gap by exploring the emerging international governance landscape in this context, emphasising transnational frameworks to offer a comprehensive view of this landscape.

Our report explores the international and global reach of AI to assess how children are directly and indirectly affected by AI. First, we introduce a glossary of key terms, followed by our methodology outlining the frameworks reviewed and key themes. These themes encompass children’s rights, children’s wellbeing, and child-centred recommendations and policies. We then present two heatmaps which assesses the key themes across 13 transnational frameworks and the extent to which they address specific considerations within these themes. These include integrating children’s rights, considering children’s wellbeing and sociotechnical factors, involving children’s voices, and addressing both opportunities and risks related to AI. Finally, we conclude with a brief discussion and point to areas for future research.

Our research aims to provide insights for policymakers, researchers, public sector stakeholders, and civil society to understand the evolving landscape of AI frameworks concerning children’s rights and wellbeing on a global scale. The main findings of our analysis focus on the key areas of children’s rights, children’s wellbeing, and child-centred recommendation and policies.