UNICEF Youth Voice Prasiddhi Singh Demands Safe, Inclusive AI for Children

Prasiddhi Singh said, "We present the following eight demands, calling on governments, regulatory authorities, think tanks, civil society organisations, UN bodies and technology companies to ensure and take immediate and collective action. We want to ensure that AI systems are inclusive by design and use diverse and representative data sets that reflect the lived experiences of marginalised communities across caste, class, gender, geography and racial context."

She emphasised the need for ethical AI standards, adding, "To ensure strong data protection, ethical standards and safety in the development and use of AI, including age-appropriate design and safeguards against harmful AI-generated content."

On education and youth engagement, she said, "Invest in education systems and institutional capacities to prepare children and young people to engage with AI critically, ethically and safely."

She also stressed parental guidance, stating, "Develop and implement parental guidance and support mechanisms to help them guide and protect children's interactions with AI while respecting their privacy, safety, freedom of expression and evolving capacities."

Prasiddhi Singh highlighted the importance of practical AI exposure for children, saying, "Invest in emerging opportunities for children and young people to engage with AI, through incubation, through mentorship, through project-based initiatives that support real-world problem solving."

She added, "Invest in building accessible AI-ready skills for children and young people and ensure that they are equipped for meaningful employment opportunities."

Addressing employment concerns, she said, "Address the risks of job displacement and exclusion, particularly the use of automated screening that can often unfairly disadvantage children and young people from marginalised communities by ensuring transparency and human oversight in AI-driven recruitment processes."

On youth participation in AI decision-making, she stated, "Meaningfully engage children and young people from grassroots communities as AI ambassadors and contributors throughout the AI life cycle, real seats, real opportunities, real ways to engage in the decision-making, because when young people shape AI as equal partners, it is nation building. It is planet building. It builds creators, not merely consumers of the future."

S Krishnan, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, responded, "I can fully empathise with what the city had to say about what we need to do for you and for the younger generation. As far as AI is concerned, when she says "Gen AI," she does not mean generative AI. She means the generation of AI, and that, I think, is important."

He added, "We're doing all of this for them. This is not an event which is truly meant for our generation. It is the ability to make sure that we equip that generation, the next generation, with possibly a technology which is broad-based and prosperity, which can make all the difference."

Prof Ajay Sood, Principal Scientific Adviser, said, "So we were just looking at the data, which is there in open source, that in children, interaction with AI is really rising very, very rapidly in the last year. For example, 67% of teens in the UK now use AI. In the US, it is also almost like 40% of elementary age children, and they are using AI-powered educational tools."

He added, "Now, in India's child-specific AI usage data is still emerging. But the fact that the ecosystem is prime for growth is clear, because 85.5% of households now own a smartphone and 86% have internet."

Prof Sood highlighted benefits and challenges, stating, "This AI can also strengthen inclusion, by improving accessibility for children with disabilities, for example, through speech-to-text and translation features that reduce barriers to participation across languages. We have all been seeing associated risks that require deliberate safeguarding. How do we avoid over-reliance on AI tools? This does weaken critical thinking, independent problem solving, and learning resilience."

- ANI