EPISODE 1
Africa Childhood in the age of AI: Opportunities and Challenges (24th November 2023)
EPISODE 2
Children Voices in AI Policy (1st December 2023)
EPISODE 3
Preparing Children for an AI world (Â 8th 2023 at 16:00 – 18:00 hrs)
The digital world for the last few years has been experiencing significant growth and we are all moving into a world that was initially seen as unknown. Technology is evolving every day and this has given birth to what we call Artificial Intelligence. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a transformative technology that simulates human intelligence in machines to perform tasks that typically require human intelligence. AI systems, powered by algorithms and data, have significantly advanced in recent years, reshaping the digital world in various ways. AI encompasses several key technologies, including machine learning, natural language processing, computer vision, and robotics. These technologies enable AI systems to analyze vast amounts of data, make predictions, understand human language, recognize patterns, and interact with the physical world. As a result, AI has found applications across diverse industries, from healthcare and finance to education and entertainment.
In March 2021, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child officially launched its General Comment No. 25 on children’s rights in relation to the digital environment. The general comment sets out how the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child applies in the digital world and it is the first authoritative international legal document explicitly recognizing that children’s rights apply both offline and online. It emphasizes that governments should ensure that all children have equal and effective access to the digital environment in ways that are meaningful to them, to uphold and advance children’s rights to nondiscrimination, access to information, freedom of expression, education, culture, leisure and play.
 and this has been reported by different organizations, notably UNICEF (2019), which reported that one in three internet users globally is a child. This means that a lot of children have interacted with AI in one way or another, either as consumers or using prompts to get content.
 notably the United States of America, the United Kingdom, and Australia be among the first to propose policies related to AI. This is termed as ‘modern policies for modern technology” and seeks to address how Artificial Intelligence is created, used and also how it deals with matters of data privacy and protection for users. A number of issues however have not been addressed yet in these proposed policies ranging from algorithm bias, inaccuracy in data production, and most importantly, children voices in the formulation of policies and their experiences using the said languages.Â
it is important that we have a conversation, especially on the use of LLM and Generative AI to generate content for our day-to-day work. The conversation should further involve children and how they can thrive in the digital world with the use of AI in different areas of their lives.
- African Childhood in the Age of AI: Opportunities and Challenges. (24th November 2023)
- Children’s Voices in Shaping AI Policy and Regulations. (30th November 2023)
- Preparing children for an AI world. (8th December 2023)
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- The webinar series aims to create a platform for meaningful discussions on the intersection of AI, child voices, and digital technology in Africa. By focusing on empowering children, shaping AI policy, promoting ethical AI usage, and addressing the digital divide, this series aims to foster an informed dialogue on how AI can be leveraged for the enhancement of children’s voices in the region.