With the increase in children’s interactions with AI based systems and applications, it becomes imperative to promote critical perspectives towards their everyday technology use. Current AI literacy initiatives, however, focus mainly on teaching how such systems work and on encouraging children to become future technology developers and engineers.

Through her project on Participatory AI with School Children (PAIZ), Sumita Sharma, postdoctoral researcher at the University of Oulu, Finland, encourages children to develop a critical mindset towards technology use and design, employing design futuring approaches. She has conducted workshops on ethical AI with young children (ages 10-12 years) in Finland, India, and Japan, and—with collaborators—also in the United States. In this talk, Sharma will share her experiences from these workshops and present her approach towards discussing complex ethical challenges with young children.