Designers and business decision makers want to have a final product that helps create a better world for our children and our common future. We want children to have the best opportunities in life. Digital products have the potential to enhance child development and wellbeing in supporting the natural process that children will go through. The potential of AI in smart toys for children has both utopian and dystopian outcomes.
Issues such as cognitive and physical development need to be strongly considered in a context of developing and changing evidence about the impact that exposure to digital media has on children. Additionally, the role of the family and the effect of a digital experience on a child’s world are to be taken into account when designing for their best interests.
Designers and creators of children’s products, services and content creators should become aware of the principles that cover the most relevant children’s rights in the context of design to ensure ethical design for our future generations. By examples of toys that make use of AI I will explore both promising and threatening aspects of these developments.
Wouter Sluis-Thiescheffer is a senior game ux researcher at Fontys university for ICT. He has a long standing of research projects with children and new technology. He is the driving force behind the game-ux lab at Fontys, serving media and game businesses with UX insights. His is an active member of the children’s rights in design movement to help companies with creating solutions for improving children’s lives while respecting children’s universal needs.