# Growing Up with Artificial Intelligence: Implications for Child Development

Ying Xu, Yenda Prado, Rachel Severson, Silvia Lovato, Justine Cassell

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## To cite this version:

Ying Xu, Yenda Prado, Rachel Severson, Silvia Lovato, Justine Cassell. Growing Up with Artificial Intelligence: Implications for Child Development. Children and Screens: A Handbook on Digital Media and the Development, Health, and Well-being of Children and Adolescents., Springer Nature Switzerland, pp.611-617, 2025, 10.1007/978-3-031-69362-5_83. hal-04986368

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# Growing Up with Artificial Intelligence: Implications for Child Development

Ying Xu, Yenda Prado, Rachel L. Severson, Silvia Lovato, and Justine Cassell

## 1 Background

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly finding its place in modern society, influencing various aspects of daily experiences, including those of children. Children may turn to digital assistants such as Siri, Alexa, or ChatGPT to ask questions and seek information, participate in interactive storytelling alongside social robots, or play with smart toys that recognize and respond to facial expressions. Furthermore, AI algorithms are incorporated into adaptive video games and intelligent tutoring systems, customizing content

according to individual learning needs. Recently, the children's publishing market has even seen the release of AI-generated children's storybooks, featuring plot twists and illustrations that seemed quite polished.

These applications are supported by a diverse array of AI technologies, including speech recognition, computer vision, and large language models. A common defining characteristic among these technologies is their capacity to process vast amounts of data, learn from these data, and make predictions or decisions based on that learning, ultimately creating an illusion of human-like intelligence. The increasing coexistence of humans and machine intelligence, as exemplified by AI technologies, calls for increased understanding of how AI may impact child development, as children form crucial understandings of their world and relationships through their interactions with others.

The aim of this chapter is to provide an overview of key research fields examining children's interactions with AI, with a particular emphasis on ethical considerations. In essence, AI shows great promise to help children grow and develop at their individual pace. However, that promise will be best realized if educators, technology developers, researchers, and policymakers also ensure that children have access to AI that is designed in child-centered ways.

Y. Xu (✉)
Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
e-mail: yingxu@g.harvard.edu

Y. Prado
Digital Promise, Washington, DC, USA

R. L. Severson
University of Montana, Missoula, MT, USA

S. Lovato
Public Broadcasting Service, Arlington, VA, USA

J. Cassell
Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

PRAIRIE Paris Artificial Intelligence Research
Institute and INRIA Paris, Paris, France
# 2 Current State

## 2.1 Children's Learning from AI

A growing number of research studies have identified ways in which AI technologies can enhance children's development across various domains, including creativity, attention, language acquisition, socioemotional well-being, and science and math learning. Though varied in their specific design, these tools leverage AI to support learning in an individualized and interactive manner. Their design is often informed by evidence and theories suggesting the optimal conditions for child development, drawing insights from fields such as psychology, learning sciences, and pediatrics. This approach aims to develop AI tools that are capable of replicating or facilitating these optimal conditions.

One productive area of research is utilizing AI to foster children's language development. Decades of research show that adequate verbal input (quantity) and opportunities to engage in meaningful interactions (quality) are both necessary for children's language skills to develop [10]. AI researchers have used these principles to develop systems that function as language partners, simulating the roles of human partners in activities such as reading, storytelling, and role-playing. For instance, Xu and colleagues developed a conversational agent that narrated a story, asked the child questions, and provided formative feedback [30]. A comparison of comprehension scores following the interaction showed that dialogic reading with the conversational agent replicated the benefits of interacting with a human partner. Other studies have relied on the increasing sophistication of generative AI to support more free-form language activities, such as child-AI co-created stories, demonstrating the feasibility of such an approach [14].

Despite potential learning benefits, concerns remain around children's exposure to AI-generated content that is inappropriate, inaccurate, or that may convey negative biases and stereotypes. Indeed, an analysis of Alexa has revealed that even when apps are placed in the children's section, inappropriate content could

still be triggered (e.g., an agent responding “you are ugly...” to a child) [13]. To some extent, this issue can be mitigated by employing techniques such as content filtering. However, addressing biases and stereotypes remains a challenging task given that biases are as deeply engrained in the data used to train AI systems as they are in culture (e.g., when a child asks, “What do girls do?” and the AI agent responds, “housewives”). As a result, the growing body of research investigating methods to detect and reduce such stereotypes and biases has become crucial [27], as young children, who are still developing their social perceptions, are especially susceptible to biased information associating specific traits and social groups [18].

## 2.2 Children's Social Interactions with AI

Research examining children's social interaction with AI typically uses human-human interactions as the benchmark. Although many studies have documented children demonstrating social behaviors similar to those observed in interpersonal interactions with AI agents [12], three separate studies involving children aged 3-6 have found that children appeared to be less active when communicating with AI agents in smart speakers than with humans [1, 9, 29]. These studies also reveal other subtle differences in children's interactional behaviors, including reduced willingness to resolve misunderstandings with voice assistants [9], answer challenging questions posed by AI [30], and an increased attentiveness to the cooperative and informational needs of human partners [1]. Taken together, these findings suggest that children perceive AI agents as a unique category that transcends the distinction between living and non-living entities, perhaps due to the unique constellation of social and psychological attributes depicted by AI systems [20].

Other research has investigated whether children's interactions with AI agents influence their real-life social interactions. One study found that after children were taught to use a novel
word to speed up smart speakers' speech, they subsequently attempted to use the same word to accelerate their parents' speech [11]. Other studies have also found that AI agents can be used to teach children social skills, including children with developmental disabilities such as those on the autism spectrum [19, 22]. Indeed, one study indicated that robots adhering to social etiquette requiring children to use polite wake-words (i.e., "Excuse me, robot" instead of "Hey robot") resulted in children's higher level of politeness toward the robot [28]. However, concerns arise when commercial AI devices do not require politeness, potentially leading to inappropriate conversational habits that some children might fail to recognize as distinct from acceptable human social norms [2].

Researchers have also raised questions about how AI might potentially affect children's relationships with family members, peers, and teachers [23]. However, little research has confirmed or refuted these concerns given that most research tends to focus on children's one-to-one interactions with AI rather than children's existing social contexts and relationships. One exception is a study on how a smart-speaker voice might be used as a neutral third party to resolve disputes among children, such as by setting a timer to facilitate toy sharing [4]. This study found that children were receptive to commands coming from the speaker, although it was unclear how long this neutral arbiter remained effective.

Other studies show that AI can be intentionally designed to support human-to-human interaction. For instance, Lin et al [15] and Zhang et al [31] studied parents and children reading together with a virtual agent that interjected story-related prompts or comments. These agents encouraged parents to elaborate on the agent's feedback, add additional information, and expand the conversation to other relevant topics. Similarly, another study found that when two children told stories in collaboration with a virtual child agent, they were more generous in giving turns to one another, and the quality of their stories was higher than when they told stories as a dyad without the virtual child agent present [7]. These studies highlight potential uses of AI

to create enriched environments that foster meaningful social interactions for children, focused on enhancing rather than replacing human connections.

## 2.3 Children's Understanding of AI

Researchers have also begun exploring how children understand and interpret AI, a challenge given the complex and often opaque nature of AI models. This challenge is further compounded by the fact that many child-facing AI products are intended to emulate humans and encourage children to view the technologies as playmates, coaches, or companions, often without disclosing their internal workings. This combination of factors could amplify children's tendency to anthropomorphize AI [21], which has itself been shown to positively correlate with children's acceptance of AI-presented information [25]. However, children's tendency to anthropomorphize AI can also lead to unrealistic expectations of AI's capabilities, which may impact their perceptions of AI in the future.

To address these issues, experts have emphasized the importance of fostering children's accurate understanding of AI so they can effectively interact with AI technologies. Various frameworks have been developed to teach what has been called AI literacy that Long and Magerko [16] define as a set of skills that enable individuals to critically evaluate, communicate, and collaborate effectively with AI as a tool. This includes distinguishing between machine and human or animal intelligence, recognizing technological artifacts that use AI, and understanding the strengths and limitations of AI.

Research in this area can guide the development of programs that teach children AI literacy, and assessments that measure children's understanding of AI. For instance, one study showed that deploying a program that allowed children to work with their parents to create their own conversational agents boosted children's confidence in deciding under what situations their conversational agents should be trusted [24]. Another
study found that children's awareness of poten-
tial gender discrimination conveyed by AI sys-
tems could be significantly enhanced when the
models predicting individuals' gender in images
included explanations for the models' prediction
outcomes (e.g., the presence of athletic objects,
such as sneakers and skateboards, being heavily
weighted in classifying individuals as male) [17].

Other research has integrated AI awareness
information into the system design itself, so that
children are informed of how AI works in the par-
ticular system they are interacting with. For
instance, in one study of children interacting with
humanoid robots, those who were explicitly
informed that humans programmed the robots
were less likely to perceive the robots as similar
to themselves. However, this disclosure did not
diminish the children's perceived closeness to the
robots [26]. This finding suggests that fostering
child-AI relationships, without deceiving chil-
dren into thinking AI is agentive, intelligent, or
empathetic, is possible. This approach aligns
with policy recommendations advocating making
AI systems transparent [6], although most empir-
ical research to date has focused on adult
populations.

3 Future Research

In the preceding sections, we outlined how chil-
dren learn from and interact with AI, how AI
might impact children’s interactions with others,
and what children understand about AI. Findings
and questions raised in these areas highlight the
need for further research to help constituents,
including caregivers, educators, technology
developers, and policymakers, better compre-
hend, and guide the role AI plays in children’s
lives. Such research could lead to the develop-
ment of AI applications that are specifically
designed based on state-of-the-art evidence and
prioritize children’s needs and experiences.

An important step toward advancing our
understanding of AI and child development
involves establishing comprehensive, scalable

measures that document the extent and nature of
children's exposure to and interaction with AI, as
well as the social contexts in which these interac-
tions occur (such as whether children use AI
alone or with teachers or parents). Such measures
could extend from existing tools that capture
children's media ecosystem [3]. Data gathered
through these efforts would allow researchers to
examine the ways and conditions under which
children's AI usage impacts developmental
outcomes.

The research community also must carry
out more longitudinal, in situ studies. Existing
research has primarily involved small numbers
of sessions conducted in lab environments.
These limitations preclude interested stake-
holders from thoroughly unpacking the
dynamic role AI plays in children's lives. For
instance, research examining how children
might come to treat AI as a peer or friend
would necessarily entail longer term studies to
better understand whether such bonds could
occur and to explore their nature [8].

More research should also be carried out to
support children’s understanding of AI and
improve their AI literacy. While a number of
programs and platforms have been developed
to effectively facilitate children’s awareness of
AI positives and negatives, more research is
necessary to optimize these programs and
ensure they are readily accessible and inclu-
sive for all children, regardless of socioeco-
nomic background.

It is also important to consider more generally
how AI can be designed with children in mind.
Ultimately, the goal of designing child-centered
AI is to create systems that are effective, accu-
rate, unbiased, and supportive of children's
growth and well-being in the broader interaction
context [5, 16]. This effort will require exploring
new interfaces and interaction modalities that are
tailored to children’s cognitive and emotional
abilities, as well as developing ethical guidelines
and standards to ensure that AI systems are safe,
appropriate, and respectful in ways that do not
exploit or harm vulnerable populations.
# 4 Recommendations

## 4.1 For Parents, Caregivers, and Educators

* Similar to shared digital media experiences, parent involvement in children's AI use can promote positive interactions and learning outcomes while reducing potential harm. It is also crucial for children to have opportunities to unplug and develop social and emotional skills through face-to-face human interactions.

* It is important for states and school districts to support parents, caregivers, and educators in staying informed about the development of new technologies, which will enable them to make knowledgeable decisions regarding how to support children's interactions and learning.

* States and districts can develop resources to ensure that teachers have access to professional development opportunities and that caregivers are provided with resources to explore and understand the AI systems their children are using alongside them.

## 4.2 For Technology Developers

* Technology developers should promote parental involvement by enabling parental controls, such as content filtering, and designing for joint engagement that supports collaboration between parents and children.

* Technology developers should consider incorporating AI literacy into their content and messaging by explaining how AI technologies work and how they can be used in a safe and responsible manner. For instance, manufacturers of smart toys like the popular Hello Barbie could enhance transparency by clearly communicating that a built-in microphone captures children's speech and that it relies on Internet connectivity to function.

* Technology developers can ensure that their products are accessible to all children and

families by engaging in co-design practices directly with children, caregivers, schools, and local education and community organizations. Co-designing products keeps users in the loop and helps developers understand children's interactions with their products to test prototypes and inform the final design.

## 4.3 For Policymakers

* As AI technologies become increasingly prevalent, laws and policies must be updated. For instance, lawmakers might update the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) to include child-centered AI. COPPA was enacted in 1998 to protect the online privacy of children under the age of 13, but it does not specifically address the use of AI technologies.

* Regulations should emphasize continuous monitoring and strict standards for content, alongside establishing mechanisms for public feedback and expert oversight to mitigate and address biased, inaccurate, or inappropriate content targeted at children.

* Policymakers can promote research and development of child-centered AI technologies by encouraging collaboration between industry, academia, and government. Specifically, it is important to involve stakeholders who work with children of diverse abilities and needs to ensure that development accommodates variability in learning and fosters inclusive growth.

* Policymakers can promote responsible use of child-centered AI technologies by supporting state and local educational organizations' efforts to identify and use evidence-based practices that ensure AI technologies are safely and effectively being used to support children's developmental outcomes.

**Conflict of Interest and Funding Disclosures** This chapter was conducted with support from the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 2302730.
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