The healthy development of children is crucial to the future well-being of any society – there’s no two ways about it. Backed by a 75-year history of protecting children’s rights, UNICEF believes that it would be catastrophic to allow the future evolution of AI without considering children’s specific needs and rights. Therefore, the ‘AI for Children’ initiative aims to aid the protection and empowerment of children in interactions with AI systems and enable access to its benefits in all aspects of life. Here’s all you need to know about this initiative:

What validates such a project dedicated to children?

• UNICEF found that very little attention is explicitly being given to safeguarding the rights of children in an economy and society in which algorithms are becoming increasingly influential. While there is some emphasis on preparing children to live in an AI-dominated world and develop basic AI literacy skills, many key rights are overlooked. These include protection against discrimination, abuse and exploitation or the rights to freedom of expression, association and access to information.
• It is also incorrectly assumed by authorities across the world that the benefits of AI will be available equally to all children and adults.
• An analysis of 20 national AI strategies by UNICEF has revealed that most make only a cursory mention of children and their specific needs. Evaluating four key child-centred categories, one strategy was found to have no meaningful mention of children, while barely a handful registered more than 1,000 words on the key issues of improving quality of life and services for children, protecting their data and privacy, enabling them to obtain strong AI competences, and cultivating them as a workforce.

How is it carried out?

• AI for Children is a two-year project led by the Office of Global Insight and Policy. UNICEF worked with experts from around the world to gain regional perspectives on AI systems and children.
• UNICEF is supported by and partnering with the Government of Finland, and collaborating with the IEEE Standards Association, the Berkman Klein Centre for Internet & Society, the World Economic Forum, the 5Rights Foundation and other organizations that form part of Generation AI, an undertaking of the Office of Innovation. 
• A policy document has been released in September 2020, describing the importance of promoting children’s development in AI strategies and practices and offering practical recommendations for governments and industry.
• A second version of the draft policy guidance is scheduled to be release towards the end of 2021 with the aim to bring a balanced perspective to the policy table with clear, usable principles for implementing AI that supports child rights.
• Over the course of 2020, UNICEF hosted a series of global consultations with adolescents to learn about their views and knowledge of the artificial intelligence (AI) systems playing an increasingly important role in their lives.

How can you contribute?

• There are regular opportunities for public engagement and feedback for this project. For the first version of the draft policy guidance, UNICEF had sought inputs from stakeholders who are interested in or working in areas related to the fields of AI and children’s rights.
• Another upcoming opportunity is the Global Forum on AI for Children, a virtual event on November 30 – December 1, 2021 to discuss practical approaches to child-centred AI policies and systems.

Also read | What is AI's influence on children, and how do we protect them?