The Children’s Parliament, a children’s rights group in Scotland, has launched a new learning tool, Why Children’s Rights Matter: A Resource for Professionals, aimed at adults working in AI, digital, and data spaces to understand how children’s rights intersect with AI system design and decision-making.
“Children’s Parliament is excited to launch our eLearning resource together with our partners from the SAIA and The Alan Turing Institute,” Sandra Rabbow, AI project officer at Childrens’ Parliament said.
“The resource was developed as part of our work with children aged 8-12 years from across Scotland. The children had a direct call to action that adults who develop AI systems and make decisions about its use need to know about children’s human rights.
“The eLearning modules raise awareness about children’s human rights and the importance of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) in Scotland. The resource will provide a platform for sharing children’s voices—highlighting what matters to them when it comes to AI and how adults can ensure that new technologies support children’s safety and wellbeing.”
Children’s Parliament, The Scottish AI Alliance, and The Alan Turing Institute have been exploring how children interact with AI, from its associated possibilities and risks, and how they themselves can be meaningfully invovled in AI development and policy.
Taking a children’s human rights approach, the project team worked with Members of Childrens’ Parliament (MCPs) to identify what needs to happen for AI to play a role in keeping all children healthy, and safe. To capture as broad a range of views as possible and to reflect the diversity of experiences of children in Scotland, classes ranging from P4 to P7 in four schools across Glasgow, Edinburgh, Stirlingshire and Shetland participated.
As part of this initiative, the MCPs created a series of actions for adults engaged in AI development to contemplate. One significant gap highlighted throughout this project is that adults often overlook the effects of AI-related decisions on children.
This eLearning course serves as a brief, introspective educational tool aimed at adults operating within AI, digital, and data sectors to address this concern.
These materials are now accessible on the Scottish AI Playbook, which will enable users to acquire a rights-focused advantage in the AI landscape, assisting them in recognising and evaluating the significance of children’s rights in connection to AI.
Sandra Rabbow, AI Project Officer, Children’s Parliament, said: “Children’s Parliament is excited to launch our eLearning resource together with our partners from the SAIA and The Alan Turing Institute. The resource was developed as part of our work with children aged 8-12 years from across Scotland.
“The children had a direct call to action that adults who develop AI systems and make decisions about its use need to know about children’s human rights. The eLearning modules raise awareness about children’s human rights and the importance of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) in Scotland. The resource will provide a platform for sharing children’s voices—highlighting what matters to them when it comes to AI and how adults can ensure that new technologies support children’s safety and wellbeing.”
