Reviewing Existing and Emerging Frameworks on Children’s Rights and AI

Introduction

In 2022, we began conducting a review of existing frameworks relating to children’s rights and AI in the UK and internationally. This includes UNICEF’s Policy Guidance on AI for Children 2.0, the World Economic Forum’s Artificial Intelligence for Children Toolkit, the ICO’s Age-Appropriate Design Code, and the UK’s proposed Online Safety Bill amongst others. This in-depth review examines the ways that children’s rights are being advanced and protected in relation to AI and seeks to inform best practice in child-centred AI. The outputs of this research will provide a comparative analysis of existing frameworks, synergies and differences, and challenges surrounding the implementation and enforcement of such frameworks. We recently presented preliminary findings of this research and are set to publish our work in the near future. 

Read the Preprint
 

Transnational frameworks

Building on our previous research on children’s rights and AI frameworks in the UK, we began researching children’s rights and wellbeing in relation to data-intensive technologies around the world. We looked beyond a regional analysis and focused on transnational frameworks which consider children more broadly regardless of country or region.

In November 2023, we published a report on AI, Children’s Rights, and Wellbeing: Transnational Frameworks which included an in-depth analysis of 13 Frameworks at the Intersections of data-Intensive technologies according to three major themes, namely: children’s rights, children’s wellbeing, and child-centred policies.

Children's rights

Upholding and integrating all children's rights according to the UNCRC in this framework

Child-centred recommendations & policies

Developing and integrating child-centred recommendations and policies

Children's wellbeing

Children's sociotechnical wellbeing and related considerations

Read the Executive Summary Read the Full Report