Experts Unite, Kids Delight : Co-Designing an Inclusive AI Literacy Educational Tool for Children

Collyer-Hoar, Gail and Castellani, Aurora and Guluzade, Lala and Tomczyk, Ben and Bilal, Hania and Rubegni, Elisa (2025) Experts Unite, Kids Delight : Co-Designing an Inclusive AI Literacy Educational Tool for Children. In: IDC '25 : Proceedings of the 24th Interaction Design and Children. ACM, New York, pp. 852-857. ISBN 9798400714733

Abstract

The increasing adoption of generative AI raises concerns regarding its potential to reinforce gender stereotypes, especially in content aimed at children. AI-generated images that reflect traditional gender roles can inadvertently influence children’s perceptions, embedding unconscious biases. Through co-design sessions with domain experts, we developed a child-friendly generative AI web application designed with dual purpose: (1) analysing children’s choices to determine potential underlying bias and whether children’s own gender identity influences these choices, and (2) investigating if specific non-aesthetic traits prompt the AI to produce characters with stereotypical presentations.