How to raise children in the age of AI: Seminar on the future of AI x education
As children increasingly interact with AI tools and technologies in their everyday life, researchers across domains are investigating children’s experiences with technologies and empowering them through critical, technical, participatory workshops and interventions. The Future of AI (x) Education seminar was held at the University of Oulu on April 15, 2025 as a part of the FCAI SIG on Children and AI and Research Council of Finland-funded TakeOver project aiming at fostering children’s transformative agency with emerging technologies for social good (led by professor Netta Iivari, INTERACT leader).
Satu Keto, Yle Innovation Lead, discusses generation alpha’s social media use and aspirations
Researchers discussed their work with children on various aspects related to AI and its use in education. The seminar was opened by Jukka Reikki, professor at the University of Oulu, followed by a keynote from Yasmin Kafai, professor of learning sciences at the University of Pennsylvania, on promoting computational empowerment for high school students and teachers and auditing AI for algorithmic justice. Satu Keto, Yle Innovation Lead, discussed Yle’s work with generation alpha exploring social and multi-voice interaction in the media.
Sirkku Tahvanainen from Code School Finland, built a case for why coding is still (and even more so) a crucial skill despite advancements in AI, as it empowers problem-solving, creativity and digital literacy in an increasingly tech-driven world.
The seminar continued with talks by University of Oulu researchers: Kati Mäkitalo (professor) presented the Generation AI project, showcasing AI education tools for K-9 pupils to learn about AI. Eva Durall Gazulla (Academy Research Fellow, INTERACT) discussed her work with teenagers on social justice in the context of data-driven systems. Ulrico Celentano (project manager, Biomimetics and Intelligent Systems Group) discussed ‘the other side of the coin’, i.e, privacy, security, safety and ethical issues in the set-up and use of AI, generative AI in particular. Sumita Sharma (postdoctoral researcher, INTERACT) presented AI futures as imagined by children in Finland, India, USA, and Japan, which was part of her research work on participatory AI with children (PAIZ project, funded by the Research Council of Finland).
Parallel to the talks, school teachers participated in a hands-on workshop conducted by Priyanka Sebastian (doctoral candidate, INTERACT) on her doctoral thesis topic: emerging technologies and the future of education. As part of the workshop, Henna Tiensuu (postdoctoral researcher, Biomimetics and Intelligent Systems Group) discussed “Inclusive gamification of educational content” by presenting a role-playing game for users of any age to learn about personal data collection and privacy protection through discussions in inclusive language.
Panel discussion, from left to right: Ulrico Celentano, Sirkku Tahvanainen, Kati Mäkitalo, Henna Tiensuu, Yasmin Kafai, Eva Durall Gazulla, and Netta Iivari
The seminar ended with a panel discussion on raising a child in the age of AI moderated by Netta Iivari. The panelists agreed that children, and teachers and parents, need to be made aware of and empowered in relation to their everyday use of AI and the impacts of AI on the individual and societal, physical and emotional wellbeing.
The FCAI SIG on Children and AI was founded in May 2023 to bring together researchers in Finland working with children, youth, and schools on topics related to AI. As part of the FCAI activities, INTERACT conducts an annual AI Youth Ambassadors program, this year with 42 summer workers exploring the use, design, and development of various AI systems, such as, LLMs, and envisioning ethical AI futures and being educated and empowered as future leaders and decision-makers. For more information about the program please visit https://interact.oulu.fi/ai-ambassador