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AI technologies are rapidly becoming integral to children’s daily lives, embedded in tools like assistive learning platforms, interactive robots, smart home devices, and generative AI systems such as ChatGPT, which many children regularly interact with.

Oxford CCAI is to lead a new project, togeter with UCI and Oxford Philosophy, to address the pressing issue of fostering children’s digital autonomy in societies where childhood has become intricately intertwined with Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems, for instance through connected toys, apps, voice assistants, and online learning platforms.

Many congraluations to Dr Ge (Tiffany) Wang, who defended her viva in January 2024 with flying colours, and has begun her new journey in Stanford HCAI with a new one-year postdoctoral research fellowship.

We are excited that Dr Jun Zhao presented her research on digital parental control at the Bi-Annual International Congress on Infants Studies, a premier academic venue for infant studies. As part of a panel chaired by Professor Denis Mareshcai on “What is AI?

We are very pleased that our joint research study with ZheJiang University has been accepted for publication by International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction. We believe that this is one of the first studies looking into how Chinese children perceive datafication practices.

CHAITok – Empowering Children’s Data Autonomy in the Age of AI In today’s digital age, social media has emerged as a dominant platform for children to socialise, entertain and educate themselves.

In today’s digital age, children are growing up surrounded by technology, with their online activities leaving digital footprints that are tracked, analysed, and often monetized. While the digital landscape offers countless opportunities for learning and exploration, it also exposes children to a myriad of datafication risks, including harmful profiling, micro-targeting, and behavioural manipulation.

On Friday 10 May 2024, Dr Zhao spoke at the launching event of Oxford Reuben College’s Global Challenges Programme. This is a new programme designed to investigate some of the most pressing global challenges of our day.

While there are increased attention on ethical AI and AI regulations, the impact of AI on children is not always central in these discussions. In this Nature Perspective paper, we highlight that although there is a growing consensus around what high-level AI ethical principles should look like, too little is known about how to effectively apply them in principle for children.

We are thrilled to announce that the Oxford CCAI Team had a major opinion piece accepted by Nature Machine Intelligence Ge Wang, Jun Zhao, Max Van Kleek and Nigel Shadbolt. Challenges and opportunities in translating ethical AI principles into practice for children.