Blog by Sonia Livingstone: “Our RIGHTS.AI research in four global South countries (Brazil, India, Kenya and Thailand) shows that children are encountering generative AI at home and school, in the platforms they use daily. From chatbots like ChatGPT and Copilot to AI embedded in Snapchat, WhatsApp and Google Search, generative AI now powers learning tools, entertainment apps, and even experimental mental health services. It answers questions and creates content – sometimes problematically – and quietly shapes what children see and do online.
Children are fast adopters of AI technologies, but they often lack sufficient understanding of how these systems work, the capacity to ensure their beneficial use, and the competence to understand the implications. Can education about AI facilitate generative AI opportunities for children and mitigate its challenges and risks?
Through collaboration with partners in Brazil, India, Kenya and Thailand, our research methods identified three pressing challenges for AI literacy policies and programmes, which complement findings from UNICEF’s research into how AI relates to the best interests of the child. Media and digital literacy practitioners will find them familiar!…(More)”.
