Programme Session Details

spotlight Session

Spotlight: AI companions for kids: Safety, suitability, and the slippery slope of attachment

As AI companions become playmates and confidants for children, they raise urgent questions about safety, credibility, and the risks of over-attachment. This session explores how to evaluate and design these tools so they support, rather than manipulate, young users - drawing on Vys' age-appropriate AI framework, red-teaming of models for youth harms, and ongoing work on safeguards and remedies that make AI ecosystems more child-appropriate.