Children and AI

Introduction

While children’s lives are already being impacted by rapid innovation in artificial intelligence (AI), to date there has been little research done to examine children’s experiences and relationships with AI. The Children and AI programme of work consists of a variety of projects that engage children to explore what children think about AI, how they would like to see AI developed in the future, and how children can become more involved in shaping AI innovation, policy, and governance. The team’s extensive track record of public engagement - consisting of workshops, trainings, and lectures - continues to inform policymakers and support the development of child-centred AI. In addition to their engagement work, the team has also produced and published a series of reports and guidance documents on topics relating to children and AI.

Research aims

Children of all ages are increasingly interacting with AI in their daily lives, including through playing with smart devices or toys, engaging with online content or through use of services where AI systems inform decisions about children and their families. While children are typically underrepresented in decision-making around AI, AI presents specific opportunities and challenges for children. Particularly following the COVID-19 pandemic, children have been online more than ever, with physical forms of interaction, play, and education migrating online. Some of these changes have been made permanent, with hybrid tools remaining in place. While research has been done to explore how adults engage with AI and algorithmic systems, much less has been done to assess their impact on children’s lives.

Across our programme of work on Children and AI, we aim to bring together multidisciplinary research expertise and methodologies to examine children’s understanding, knowledge, and engagement with AI and digital technologies. This includes conducting exploratory literature reviews, surveys, and public engagement work within and outside of the classroom to investigate the socio-technical and policy implications of children’s current experiences and perceptions of AI, while also working together with relevant stakeholders such as a policymakers, educators, and carers.  

Bridging the gap between theoretical considerations of children’s interaction with technology and empirical insight into their experiences, opinions, aspirations, and questions about AI, our research aims to advance child-centred approaches to the design, development, deployment, and governance of AI. We collaborate with a range of organisations (including UNICEF, the Lego group, Council of Europe, Children’s Parliament and Scottish AI Alliance) both in the UK and internationally to examine the ways that AI impacts children’s rights, how children’s rights can be protected in a digital world, as well as developing and testing approaches to meaningfully involve children in decision-making relating to AI. Through this research we aim to support developments on policy, curricula, and the deployment of AI technologies for children to ensure that children’s voices, experiences, and rights are centred in decision-making about the future of AI.  

The Children and AI team also engages in various types of public engagement activities. We give presentations and lectures, contribute to public-facing reports, serve on panels, offer training and workshops, and appear on podcasts and radio. It is important to us that the mission of child-centred AI is promoted in all our work, and we welcome the opportunity to share our research and find new, meaningful ways to engage with children and young people. Some examples of our public engagement work include:  

• Presenting at the Council of Europe’s Steering Committee for the Rights of the Child at their Plenary
• Running an Introduction to AI Ethics Masterclass at Teens in AI’s AI4Good Incubator
• Leading session on ‘What can children teach us about AI?’ at AI UK 2024
• Delivering workshops on children and AI to schools and third sector organisations
• Conducting an international workshop on Children and AI with the Finnish Digital Agency (Digi- ja väestötietovirasto) including professionals and experts from across Finland.

If you would like to know more, email us at [email protected]