Children and AI Project

Taking a children’s human rights approach, Children’s Parliament have been asking Members of Children’s Parliament (MCPs) to think about what needs to happen for AI to play a role in keeping all children happy, healthy, and safe. 

From the Project, Children’s Parliament developed resources to help educators and professionals learn about AI through the lens of children’s human rights. You can find the resources, and more information about the project, below.

This in-depth project has brought together Children’s Parliament, the Scottish AI Alliance, The Alan Turing Institute and MCPs from Shetland, Dundee, Glasgow, Doune and Leith.  

Logos of Children's Parliament, Scottish AI Alliance, and The Alan Turing Institute

Children & AI: Teaching Pack

A classroom with comfy rugs on the floor. Four children sit on the floor, with one adult holding up a picture of a tiger. The children are talking about the image.

Children’s Parliament, the Scottish AI Alliance and The Alan Turing Institute are proud to launch a free, practical teaching resource that helps primary teachers introduce Artificial Intelligence (AI) in a way that is engaging, age-appropriate and grounded in children’s human rights.

This pack was co-created with children, teachers and experts across Scotland. It responds directly to children’s call for AI learning to be included in the curriculum, and supports educators to approach this topic with confidence, care and creativity.

The resource includes six lesson plans for P5 to P7 pupils, designed to spark curiosity, discussion and critical thinking. Children will explore where AI shows up in their lives, what it means for their rights, and how they can have a voice in the future of AI.

What’s inside:

Easy-to-use lesson plans linked to CfE experiences and outcomes

Real-life scenarios to explore fairness, safety, privacy and bias in AI

Animated videos created by children, for children

Activities to support discussion, creativity and ethical thinking

Why Children’s Rights Matter in AI:
A Resource for Professionals

This resource is aimed at giving adults an introduction to children’s human rights in an AI context, and how to best ensure that your work in developing, deploying or making decisions around AI technologies can respect and protect children’s rights.

If you would like to ensure that your work protects and celebrates children’s human rights, this will help you get started.
ScotAISummit24_05-ChildrenandAI_10.jpg
A group of children sitting on colorful rugs, collaborating on a poster laid out on the floor. They are writing and discussing, holding pens and papers. One child appears to be leading the activity.
Panel of children and an adult speaking at the Scottish AI Summit with a banner reading "Trustworthy Ethical."

Exploring Children’s Rights and AI - Stage 1 Report

The Stage 1 summary report offers an overview of the project so far and a detailed perspective on the opinions of children across Scotland regarding AI and their rights.

To learn more about the impact of AI on the lives of children in Scotland, download the Children’s Parliament report.

Infographic titled 'Exploring Children’s Rights and AI National Survey', summarizing survey findings of over 1200 Scottish children's views on AI. Sections include knowledge about AI (57% know a little, 22% a lot, 21% nothing), feelings about using AI, learning about AI at school (61% no, 26% unsure, 13% yes), importance of knowing about AI (56% yes, 34% unsure, 10% no), reasons AI is important (word cloud includes 'unsure', 'future', 'safety', 'education'), uses of AI (word cloud includes 'unsure', 'helping', 'conversations'), and methods to help children understand AI, like teaching more in school and providing information."}

National Survey

In June over 1,200 children in Scotland completed a digital survey which explored their views and ideas on AI. The findings have been presented in the graphic.

Exploring Children’s Rights and AI - Stage 2 Report

The Stage 2 report is a summary of the progress and findings of the Stage 2 project and includes a detailed account of the children’s exploration of key themes in relation to children’s rights and AI.

To learn more about the impact of AI on the lives of children in Scotland, download the Children’s Parliament report.

Infographic titled 'Exploring Children’s Rights and AI: School Staff National Survey'. It summarizes a survey conducted in 2024 with over 500 school staff across Scotland about AI in education. Findings include: 53% of staff know a little about AI, 79% have not received AI teaching guidance, and 93% have not been provided with AI learning resources. Also, 71% of teachers lack confidence in teaching AI, while 85% have medium to high confidence in teaching human rights. 45% use AI-assisted resources, and 60% would use AI if it included guidance on children’s rights.

National Teacher Survey

Children’s Parliament worked with four schools across the first two stages of the project.  Following this, they sought the views of school staff from across Scotland, with the aim of gaining a clear understanding on how prepared and supported they feel to explore the topic of AI with children. A national survey was conducted in May and June 2024. The survey collected the views of more than 500 school leaders, teachers and support staff, all of whom work with children up to the age of 14.

The findings have been presented in the graphic.

Exploring Children's Rights and AI - Stage 1

Exploring Children's Rights and AI - Stage 2

Children's Rights and AI: Children's Calls to Action