UNICEF updates guidance on AI and children amid rapid technological change
UNICEF has released a third edition of its guidance on artificial intelligence and children, setting out updated requirements for governments and the private sector to ensure AI systems respect and promote children’s rights in a fast-evolving digital environment.
UNICEF has published an updated version of its guidance on AI and children as part of its ongoing AI for Children project, responding to major shifts in how AI is developed, deployed, and used by children. The third edition reflects the growing presence of AI in children’s daily lives and the expanding risks and opportunities this creates for their rights, safety, and well-being.
Grounded in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the guidance outlines ten requirements for child-centred AI, intended to inform public policy, regulation, and corporate practice. These include the need for robust regulatory frameworks and oversight, strong data protection and privacy safeguards for children, non-discrimination and fairness, transparency and accountability, and the prioritisation of children’s best interests, development, and inclusion. The guidance also stresses the importance of preparing children with the skills needed to engage with AI technologies now and in the future, and of creating an enabling environment for responsible innovation. A practical checklist accompanies the document to support implementation.
UNICEF notes that this update was prompted by rapid advances in AI technologies, including generative AI, as well as increased adoption of AI-driven tools by children. The revised guidance addresses a range of emerging issues, such as AI companions used by children, risks within AI supply chains including child labour, datasets containing harmful or illegal content, and the environmental impacts of AI systems, which disproportionately affect younger generations. It also expands coverage of AI-generated child sexual abuse material and non-consensual intimate images, as well as the use of AI in armed conflict and cyber operations.
Alongside these risks, the guidance highlights opportunities to use AI to support learning, improve accessibility for children with disabilities, and enhance child well-being when systems are designed and governed responsibly. UNICEF underlines that, despite AI’s growing role in shaping childhood experiences, clear and rights-based guidance for policymakers and developers remains limited, making updated and practical frameworks increasingly necessary.
