10.03.2026

What empowers children to engage critically with AI? The KIKI project is launched!

There are many reservation about AI, especially with regard to early childhood. At the same time, even preschoolers are already using AI-based applications. In the BMFSFJ project KIKI, we are conducting interdisciplinary research into how children's self-determination can be strengthened and are developing analog materials to sensitize children to AI in a critical way and empower educational professionals. The ethical subproject examines questions of physicality, various children's rights, and the best interests of the child, develops research ethics principles to promote the healthy use of AI, and develops criteria for child-friendly AI.

KIKI had its kick-off-meeting on February 24, 2026.

In our interdisciplinary research project with the Department of Social Psychology at the University of Duisburg-Essen and the Department of Applied Computer Science at the University of Bamberg, and in collaboration with partners in the field, we at KIKI (short for "AI applications in acoordance with children's rights: empowering children and enabling educational professionals to ensure safe and child-friendly digital participation") are working participatively with preschool children to identify their needs and perspectives and are developing materials in a model project that strengthen various rights of children in early childhood in the spirit of positive media. One goal is to empower educational professionals to develop a basic understanding of AI mechanisms with children so that they can learn to act independently in digital environments. This is relevant because AI already permeates all areas of children's lives. Younger children in particular often consider digital technologies to be human-like and confide secrets to them or ask them for advice. Forty-one percent of 2- to 5-year-olds have access to voice assistants in the home, and 21% have their own tablet. And we know from miniKIM (2023) that this use often takes place unsupervised.

From an ethical perspective, however, we at IZEW are also researching very fundamental questions: 

• What makes early childhood special with regard to AI?
• What role does physicality play in early childhood?
• How could the foundation of key skills be embodied, and what relationship should children develop with AI—or should they not do so in the early stages of life?
• Parents and educators have many reservations about AI in early childhood, and many AI-based applications are not yet sufficiently regulated.
• What can research achieve in this area?
• Which children's rights should be given priority (participation or protection)?
• What constitutes digital wellbeing in early childhood?
• And what guidelines for positive offerings can then be derived from the research? 

KIKI will conduct research and publish findings on this topic until the end of 2028 and contribute to current public debates.

Project page:

https://uni-tuebingen.de/de/293592

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