AI and Society: Children & Data

This unit introduces the societal, ethical, and policy dimensions of artificial intelligence with an emphasis on children, vulnerable populations, and everyday life. Students examine how AI reshapes work, relationships, play, and global systems, learn to separate hype from evidence, and prepare to assess and design protective practices for online environments.

Learning Objectives

• Analyze how AI-driven systems influence work, relationships, play, and global power dynamics by identifying and explaining at least three real-world examples and their causal effects
• Evaluate popular and academic claims about AI (hype versus reality) by applying critical reasoning to at least five sources and identifying common fallacies such as the “magic wand” and invisibility assumptions
• Demonstrate understanding of data flows and online medium affordances by creating diagrams that map how personal data about children and vulnerable groups is collected, processed, and used, and by performing a basic risk assessment for two platforms
• Apply ethical, legal, and human-rights frameworks to propose at least two concrete design or policy recommendations that mitigate harms to children, including considerations for disabilities, consent, and equitable access