Made in the image of human creators: five key pillars to mitigate AI ethical risks and safeguard children’s rights

Growing up in a world increasingly shaped by AI, many children are becoming active users of AI technologies, including tools, applications, platforms, and systems. However, AI is not merely a technology, it is a sociotechnical system shaped by human creators. As such, AI can simulate human capacities and reflect human limitations. This unique and complex nature of AI requires targeted ethical guidance. However, current ethical frameworks primarily focus on general users, providing limited attention to young children (ages 0–8), who have unique developmental vulnerabilities and rapidly evolving capacities. While there is no silver bullet for navigating the complexities of the AI ethical landscape, human creators of AI serve as the first line of defense. Yet, in both research and public discourse, the responsibilities and decision-making processes (e.g., design choices, development practices) of AI creators have received less attention than other topics, such as ethical risks, policy, and regulatory frameworks, and are often discussed only within these broader debates rather than as a distinct focus. This conceptual paper aims to examine the largely unexplored responsibilities of AI creators, particularly from the children’s rights-based perspective. Accordingly, I propose an integrated conceptual ethical framework comprising five key pillars, informed by the current literature, to guide human creators in designing, deploying, and governing AI for young children: (1) safety and security, (2) developmental appropriateness, (3) fairness, inclusion, and respect, (4) transparency and explainability, and (5) accountability and responsibility. The elucidation of each pillar is accompanied by actionable practices for AI creators to consider implementing.