Call for Action
Launching a Multi-Stakeholder Coalition for Beneficial AI in Child Development
Preamble: Recognizing a pivotal moment
People under the age of 18 make up 25% of our current world population and represent 100% of our future. During this critical stage of development, their brains are undergoing profound changes, where they are constantly learning new skills, accumulating knowledge and developing their perspectives on the world by interacting with their environment. This makes them especially receptive to opportunities but also deeply vulnerable to external influences—including via digital technologies.
"We believe delivering AI approaches that support rather than undermine cognitive, emotional, and social development is an ethical obligation and an essential step toward our collective future."
AI fundamentally reshapes our world and offers significant new opportunities for expression, connection, and learning. For children and adolescents, this could offer the potential to unlock more equitable access to education globally and across socioeconomic lines, and to provide personalized learning experiences tailored to each child's unique needs and abilities. AI can also help children globally realize their human rights in specific context where they are threatened.
Harnessing AI's transformative power demands deliberate action. Digital media, when not designed for their best interests, can disrupt development by affecting attention, motivation, and critical thinking. Generative AI's capacity to mimic human relationships can foster unhealthy attachments and impair social skills. As UNICEF notes, this balance underscores a dual challenge: those without access risk being left behind, while those with access remain vulnerable if AI is not developed with children’s best interests as a guiding principle.
This moment presents a rare opportunity to prioritize children's needs in the digital age. The trajectory of child development is not yet determined, but a path we are collectively forging.
Establishing an International Coalition
We are forming an international and multistakeholder coalition that fosters inclusive dialogues between governments, tech companies, researchers, and families. Through varied perspectives, we seek to support practical, evidence-based guidelines to safeguard and promote children's well-being in the age of AI. This initiative complements existing efforts in online safety and data privacy by providing a focused lens on AI's developmental impacts.
This coalition is guided by the following principles:
Child Safety
Prioritize and protect children's safety and well-being to foster age-appropriate development and learning, protect their privacy, and provide safeguards from harmful and violent content and online risks in AI interactions including exploitation and abuse, while promoting trust and responsible AI practices that empower children.
AI that Prioritizes the Best Interests of the Child
Uphold children's rights and foster AI solutions developed by using child-centered approaches that prioritize their developmental needs. This includes transparent practices and appropriate human oversight to align AI systems with children’s rights and well-being.
Ethical, Equitable, and Inclusive AI
Implement AI that strives to benefit all children regardless of background, ability, or needs, bridging the digital gap. AI systems must consistently promote inclusivity throughout their life cycle to respect human rights and enable equal accessibility.
Age-Appropriate AI by Design
Create and use AI solutions aligned with children's cognitive and socio-emotional stages accounting where relevant for differences in maturity and development across early childhood, adolescents, and older teens to promote their wellbeing.
Fair and Transparent AI
Communicate clearly the principles behind AI system development, using easily understandable, age-appropriate terms, and addressing topics such as model training, model capabilities and performance, and intended usage.
Family-Inclusive Design
Provide parents and guardians with practical tools, and supportive resources so they can confidently manage children’s AI experiences. This also includes considering children’s perspectives, needs and experiences to inform how companies can approach this space.
Privacy for Children
Protect children's data privacy with robust safeguards, including explaining in age-appropriate ways how data is collected, used, and protected and applying principles of data minimization and transparency with their unique interests in mind.
Objectives and Actions
To put our shared vision into action, we will collaborate in line with the rights of the child as enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child to achieve the following objectives:
Establish shared guidelines to evaluate and mitigate the negative impacts of AI products used by children.
Leverage scientific evidence to understand risks and systematically study AI's developmental and societal effects.
Create a collaborative network of experts to provide ongoing guidance and facilitate informed decision-making.
Facilitate transdisciplinary international collaborations among all stakeholders.
Promote AI education and literacy for developers, educators, parents, and children.
These objectives will naturally evolve over time to best reflect new insights and the changing landscape of AI.
Join Us
We invite other organizations and individuals who share this commitment to join us in this critical endeavor by actively participating in collaborative efforts to shape a future where AI empowers and protects our children.