探花直播 of Cambridge - Faculty of Education

Play 'humanises' paediatric care and should be key feature of a child-friendly NHS 鈥� report

tdk25 — Mon, 31 Mar 2025 10:01:53 +0000

Play should be a core feature of children鈥檚 healthcare in forthcoming plans for the future of the NHS, according to a new report which argues that play 鈥榟umanises鈥� the experiences of child patients.

探花直播report, by 探花直播 of Cambridge academics for the charity Starlight, calls for play, games and playful approaches to be integrated into a 鈥榟olistic鈥� model of children鈥檚 healthcare 鈥� one that acknowledges the emotional and psychological dimensions of good health, alongside its physical aspects.

Both internationally and in the UK, health systems have, in recent decades, increasingly promoted play in paediatric healthcare. There is a growing understanding that making healthcare more child-friendly can reduce stress and positively improve younger patients鈥� experiences.

Despite this recognition, play often remains undervalued and inconsistently integrated across healthcare contexts. For the first time, the report compiles evidence from over 120 studies to make the case for its more systematic incorporation.

In the case of the UK, the authors argue that the Government鈥檚 forthcoming 10-year health plan for the NHS offers an important opportunity to embed play within a more holistic vision for childhood health.

探花直播report was produced by academics at the Centre for Play in Education, Development and Learning (PEDAL) at the Faculty of Education, 探花直播 of Cambridge. Starlight, which commissioned the review, is a national charity advocating to reduce trauma through play in children鈥檚 healthcare.

Dr Kelsey Graber, the report鈥檚 lead author, said: 鈥淧lay and child-centred activities have a unique capacity to support the emotional and mental aspects of children鈥檚 healthcare experiences, whether in hospital or during a routine treatment at the GP. It won鈥檛 directly change the course of an illness, but it can humanise the experience by reducing stress and anxiety and enhancing understanding and comfort. Hospital-based play opens up a far more complete understanding of what it means for a child to be a healthy or well.鈥�

Adrian Voce, Head of Policy and Public Affairs at Starlight, said: 鈥淲ith the government promising to create the healthiest generation of children ever as part of its new long term health plan, this compelling evidence of the benefits of play to children鈥檚 healthcare is very timely. We encourage ministers and NHS leaders to make health play teams an integral part of paediatric care.鈥�

探花直播report synthesised evidence from 127 studies in 29 countries. Most were published after 2020, reflecting intensified interest in children鈥檚 healthcare interventions following the COVID-19 outbreak.

Some studies focused on medically-relevant play. For example, hospital staff sometimes use role-play, or games and toys like Playmobil Hospital to familiarise children with medical procedures and ease anxiety. Other studies focused on non-medical play: the use of activities like social games, video games, arts and crafts, music therapy and storytelling to help make patients more comfortable. Some hospitals and surgeries even provide 鈥渄istraction kits鈥� to help children relax.

In its survey of all these studies, the report finds strong evidence that play benefits children鈥檚 psychological health and wellbeing. Play is also sometimes associated with positive physical health; one study, for example, found that children who played an online game about dentistry had lower heart rates during a subsequent dental procedure, probably because they felt more prepared.

探花直播authors identify five main ways in which play enhances children鈥檚 healthcare based on the available body of evidence:

Reducing stress and discomfort during medical procedures. Play is sometimes associated with physiological markers of reduced distress, such as lower heart rates and blood pressure. Therapeutic play can also ease pain and anxiety.

Helping children express and manage emotions. Play can help to alleviate fear, anxiety, boredom and loneliness in healthcare settings. It also provides an outlet for emotional expression among all age groups.

Fostering dignity and agency. In an environment where children often feel powerless and a lack of personal choice, play provides a sense of control which supports mental and emotional wellbeing.

Building connection and belonging. Play can strengthen children鈥檚 relationships with other patients, family members and healthcare staff, easing their experiences in a potentially overwhelming environment. This may be particularly important for children in longer term or palliative care.

Preserving a sense of childhood. Play helps children feel like children, and not just patients, the report suggests, by providing 鈥渆ssential moments of happiness, respite and emotional release鈥�.

While play is widely beneficial, the report stresses that its impact will vary from child to child. This variability highlights a need, the authors note, for informed, child-centred approaches to play in healthcare settings. Unfortunately, play expertise in these settings may often be lacking: only 13% of the studies reviewed covered the work of health play specialists, and most of the reported activities were directed and defined by adults, rather than by children themselves.

探花直播report also highlights a major gap in research on the use of play in mental healthcare. Just three of the 127 studies focused on this area, even though 86% emphasised play鈥檚 psychological benefits. 探花直播report calls for greater professional and academic attention to the use of play in mental health support, particularly in light of escalating rates of mental health challenges among children and young people. More work is also needed, it adds, to understand the benefits of play-based activities in healthcare for infants and adolescents, both of which groups were under-represented in the research literature.

Embedding play more fully in healthcare as part of wider Government reforms, the authors suggest, could reduce healthcare-related trauma and improve long-term outcomes for children. 鈥淚t is not just healthcare professionals, but also policy leaders who need to recognise the value of play,鈥� Graber said. 鈥淭hat recognition is foundational to ensuring that children鈥檚 developmental, psychological, and emotional health needs are met, alongside their physical health.鈥�

探花直播Cambridge report argues that play should be a recognised component of children鈥檚 healthcare in the Government鈥檚 forthcoming 10-year plan for the NHS.

Hospital-based play opens up a far more complete understanding of what it means for a child to be a healthy or well

Dr Kelsey Graber

Sturti, via Getty Images

Children鈥檚 hospital ward

探花直播text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Images, including our videos, are Copyright 漏探花直播 of Cambridge and licensors/contributors as identified. All rights reserved. We make our image and video content available in a number of ways 鈥� on our main website under its Terms and conditions, and on a range of channels including social media that permit your use and sharing of our content under their respective Terms.

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Autistic perspectives sought for new study on comics and inclusion

tdk25 — Thu, 23 Jan 2025 09:05:53 +0000

探花直播study will lead to new guidance encouraging both the comics industry and enthusiasts to make comics communities better places for neurodivergent fans and artists. It is being led by academics at the 探花直播鈥檚 Faculty of Education and will begin this month with an open, online survey aimed at autistic comics fans.

Research by the Comics Cultural Impact Collective (CCIC) 鈥� which will also be part of the collaboration 鈥� indicates that hundreds of young people self-identifying as neurodivergent are involved in Britain鈥檚 comics community, either as fans or creators.

探花直播CCIC also suggests, however, that neurodivergent enthusiasts often find spaces like fan conventions, comic book stores, online communities and the comics industry less than welcoming, and frequently feel 鈥榮iloed鈥�. How to address that 鈥� and what it is about comics that attracts so many autistic people in the first place 鈥� have never been fully explored.

探花直播online survey will begin to answer these questions by collecting information from autistic comics fans and creators. Professor Jenny Gibson, an expert in neurodiversity and autism and one of the project鈥檚 academic leads, described it as 鈥渒ick-starting a wider conversation about comics and autism鈥�.

鈥淐omics seem to have massive appeal for a surprising number of autistic people, and many of them are not just fans but enormously talented cartoonists, artists and illustrators,鈥� Gibson said.

鈥淭his is something the comics community is increasingly aware of, and there is a lot of enthusiasm for becoming better allies for autistic people. What we lack is information about how we can best do that, partly because we don鈥檛 know enough about the perspectives and experiences of autistic comics enthusiasts.鈥�

探花直播project is called 鈥� 探花直播Collaboration for Comics and Autism鈥�. As well as the CCIC, Gibson and co-lead Dr Joe Sutliff Sanders will be working with the Lakes International Comic Art Festival, Dekko Comics (a specialist publisher supporting neurodivergent learners), the Association of Illustrators, the Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration and autistic cartoonists Bex Ollerton and Eliza Fricker.

Beyond this, they want to involve as many autistic artists and fans as possible by gathering their experiences of engaging with comics culture and of the opportunities and barriers they have encountered.

Various explanations have been proposed for why comics seem to have such appeal for autistic people. Dekko Comics argues on its website that many autistic young people, who may often find verbal communication challenging, respond positively to the clear and accessible sensory material in comics, which may be an important bridge between their inner and outer worlds. Research by Dr Neil Cohn suggests that over 90% of children with autism spectrum disorder and language disorders enjoy comics, compared with about 60% of neurotypical children.

Comics and art also provide many autistic people with a valuable outlet for self-expression. 探花直播Cambridge project, for example, originated from a workshop at the People鈥檚 History Museum in Manchester for autistic comics artists, which Gibson and Sanders co-led with the editor of Sensory: Life on the Spectrum, an anthology by dozens of autistic creators.

Sanders, a leading comics scholar, also highlights the richly detailed imaginative world of comics in which fans immerse themselves, often becoming aficionados in the process. This may mean comics are particularly well suited to helping autistic people satisfy psychological needs that we all share, such as the need for a sense of belonging, competence, and having control over our own lives.

鈥淐omics have the power to spark a particular kind of obsession and passion among fans,鈥� Sanders said. 鈥淭hey enable a sort of flow state; that pure joy that comes from losing yourself in something that you find interesting and engaging. They are almost ready-made for accumulating knowledge and sharing it with like-minded people who will really value what you have to say.鈥�

鈥� 探花直播problem is that, like so many other parts of society, fan conventions and communities 鈥� and the comics industry as a whole 鈥� can sometimes inadvertently brush aside neurodivergent people. We need to understand what we can do differently in order to make this world as inclusive and accessible as possible.鈥�

探花直播results of the online survey will provide the basis for a series of workshops in Cambridge later this year, during which artists, fans and people involved in the industry will begin to develop a best-practice guide for autistic inclusion.

Gibson and Sanders plan to launch it at the Lakes International Festival in September. 探花直播guide will also be distributed to a wider network including fan groups, publishers, galleries and professional bodies. It will be released as a comic book, and its impact will be tested through a follow-up survey so that it can be refined as necessary in future editions.

鈥淭oo often the question of how to support autistic people is addressed from a deficit perspective, as if the problem is that they lack neurotypical skills,鈥� Gibson said. 鈥淭his project will flip that perspective. By learning more about how autistic fans connect with comics, we will begin to understand what we can do differently to make the most of their knowledge, talents and enthusiasm.鈥�

See the initial survey for 探花直播Collaboration for Comics and Autism.

Autistic people in the UK are being invited to participate in a 探花直播 of Cambridge-led project exploring the uniquely powerful connection between autism and comics.

Too often the question of how to support autistic people is addressed from a deficit perspective

Prof Jenny Gibson

Clare Mackenzie

Yes

War in Lebanon has turned a decade of education crisis into a catastrophe - report

tdk25 — Thu, 05 Dec 2024 10:21:01 +0000

探花直播recent conflict in Lebanon has deepened a national education crisis in which children have already lost up to 60% of school time over the past 6 years, new research warns.

探花直播report, by the Centre for Lebanese Studies and the 探花直播 of Cambridge鈥檚 REAL Centre, is the first to assess the state of education since Israel began its ground offensive in Lebanon in October. Using surveys and interviews with parents and teachers, it provides a snapshot of the situation a few weeks before the new ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.

探花直播study stresses that even if that ceasefire holds, a co-ordinated, forward-thinking response is essential to prevent further learning losses in an already fragile education system.

Before the recent conflict, Lebanese schools had endured over a decade of compounded crises, including an influx of Palestinian and Syrian refugees, a major financial crisis, the 2020 Beirut explosion, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Since 2018, the authors calculate, students have missed more than 760 teaching days due to strikes, disruption and closures.

探花直播report shows that the effects of the latest violence have been uneven, depending on where families and teachers are based and their immediate circumstances. Refugee children and students with disabilities have been disproportionately affected and are among those who face the greatest risk of missing out further, even as the education system struggles to recover.

Dr Maha Shuayb, Director of the Centre for Lebanese Studies and a researcher at the 探花直播 of Cambridge鈥檚 Faculty of Education: 鈥� 探花直播war has deepened learning losses that were already near-catastrophic. Whatever happens next, flexible, inclusive, multi-agency strategies are urgently needed to ensure education reaches those who need it most.鈥�

鈥淲ithout thorough response planning, existing inequalities will become more entrenched, leaving entire sections of the younger generation behind.鈥�

探花直播report is the second in a series examining the impact of war on education in the Middle East. 探花直播previous report, on Gaza, warned that conflict there could set children鈥檚 education back by several years.

REAL Centre Director Professor Pauline Rose said: 鈥淚n Lebanon and Gaza, it is not only clear that violence, displacement and trauma are causing devastating learning losses; we also need a much more co-ordinated response. Education should not be an afterthought in times of crisis; it is vital to future stability.鈥�

More than 1.3 million civilians have been displaced in Lebanon since Israel escalated its military operations. 探花直播new study was undertaken at the end of October, and involved a survey with 1,151 parents and teachers, supplemented with focus groups and interviews.

探花直播authors calculate that by November, over 1 million students and 45,000 teachers had been directly affected by the conflict. About 40% of public (state-run) schools had been converted into shelters. A further 30% were in war zones, severely limiting space for schooling.

Lebanon鈥檚 Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MEHE) attempted to reopen 聽public schools on 4 November, but the study shows that for many people, violence, displacement and inadequate infrastructure impeded the resumption. Researchers found that 303 public schools were running in-person learning and 297 functioning online, but in conflict-hit regions like Baalbek-Hermel, the South, and Nabatiyyeh, barely any were physically open.

Many of the survey participants were living in shelters or overcrowded shared accommodation, where online learning 鈥� often the only option available 鈥� was difficult. Financial pressures, exacerbated by the war, have further disrupted education. 77% of parents and 66% of teachers said the conflict had reduced their incomes amid rising living costs.

While all teachers and parents wanted education to resume, the study therefore found that they were not universally prepared. Only 19% of teachers in areas heavily affected by the fighting, for example, considered restarting education a 鈥榟igh priority鈥�. They also tended to prefer online learning, often for safety reasons, while those in less disrupted regions felt better prepared to resume education in-person.

Both parents and teachers highlighted the resource shortages hindering learning. Many lacked reliable internet, digital devices or even electricity. For example, only 62% of teachers and 49% of parents said they had an internet connection.

探花直播report also highlights the extremely difficult experiences of Palestinian and Syrian refugee children and those with disabilities: groups that were disproportionately affected by systemic inequalities before the conflict began.

探花直播authors estimate that as many as 5,000 children with disabilities could be out of school, with some parents reluctant to send children back due to a lack of inclusive provision. Refugee families, meanwhile, are among those who most urgently need food, shelter and financial help. Despite this, Syrian parents were statistically more likely to consider education a high priority. This may reflect concerns that they have been overlooked in MEHE鈥檚 plans.

Some families and teachers suggested the government鈥檚 November restart was proving chimerical. 鈥� 探花直播authorities claim that the school year has been launched successfully, but this isn鈥檛 reflective of reality,鈥� one teacher said. 鈥淚t feels more like a drive for revenue than a genuine commitment.鈥�

MEHE鈥檚 attempts at a uniform strategy, the researchers stress, will not help everyone. 鈥� 探花直播focus has largely been on resuming schooling, with little attention paid to quality of learning," they write, adding that there is a need for a far more inclusive response plan, involving tailored strategies which reflect the different experiences of communities on the ground.

探花直播report adds that this will require much closer collaboration between government agencies, NGOs, universities, and disability-focused organisations to address many of the problems raised by the analysis, such as financial instability, a lack of online learning infrastructure, and insufficient digital teaching capacity.

Even if the ceasefire holds, challenges remain. Many displaced families may not return home for weeks, while schools may still be used as shelters or require repairs. Temporary learning spaces, targeted infrastructure restoration, and trauma-informed approaches to helping children who need psychosocial learning recovery, will all be required.

Yusuf Sayed, Professor of Education, 探花直播 of Cambridge said: 鈥淓veryone hopes that Lebanon will return to normality, but we have grave reservations about the quality, consistency and accessibility of education in the medium term. Addressing that requires better data collection and monitoring, a flexible plan and multi-agency support. Our working assumption should be that for more than a million children, this crisis is far from over.鈥�

Israel-Hezbollah conflict has deepened an education crisis in which children have lost up to 60% of schooling in 6 years, study shows.

Russell Watkins/Department for International Development

Syrian refugee children in a Lebanese school classroom

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Palestinian education 鈥榰nder attack鈥�, leaving a generation close to losing hope, study warns

fpjl2 — Wed, 25 Sep 2024 07:36:49 +0000

探花直播ongoing war in Gaza will set children and young people鈥檚 education back by up to 5聽years and risks creating a lost generation of permanently traumatised Palestinian youth, a new study warns.

探花直播report, by a team of academics working in partnership with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), is the first to comprehensively quantify the war鈥檚 toll on learning since it began in October 2023. It also details the devastating impact on children, young people and teachers, supported by new accounts from frontline staff and aid workers.

探花直播study was a joint undertaking involving researchers at the Faculty of Education, 探花直播 of Cambridge and the Centre for Lebanese Studies, in partnership with UNRWA. It shows that Gaza鈥檚 children have already lost 14 months of education since 2019 due to COVID-19, earlier Israeli military operations, and the current war.

On this basis and using information such as global post-COVID-19 education recovery data, the researchers model several potential futures for Gaza鈥檚 younger generation, depending on when the war ends and how quickly the education system is restored.

探花直播most optimistic prediction 鈥� assuming an immediate ceasefire and rapid international effort to rebuild the education system 鈥� is that students will lose 2 years of learning. If the fighting continues until 2026, the losses could stretch to 5 years. This does not account for the additional effects of trauma, hunger and forced displacement, all of which are deepening Gaza鈥檚 education crisis.

Without urgent, large-scale international support for education, the researchers suggest that there is a significant threat not just to students鈥� learning, but their overall faith in the future and in concepts such as human rights. Despite this, the study shows that education has been deprioritised in international aid efforts, in favour of other areas. 鈥淓ducation, simply put, is not seen as lifesaving,鈥� the report warns.

Professor Pauline Rose, Director of the Research for Equitable Access and Learning (REAL) Centre, 探花直播 of Cambridge, said: 鈥淧alestinian education is under attack in Gaza. Israeli military operations have had a significant effect on learning.鈥�

鈥淎s well as planning for how we rebuild Gaza鈥檚 shattered education system, there is an urgent need to get educational support for children now. Education is a right for all young people. We have a collective responsibility to protect it.鈥�

According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, more than 10,600 children and 400 teachers had been killed in Israeli military operations by August 2024, and more than 15,300 students and 2,400 teachers injured. Hundreds of thousands of young people have been displaced and are living in shelters.

Satellite images analysed by the Occupied Palestinian Territory Education Cluster have verified that over 90 per cent of schools have been damaged, many beyond repair. Since August, UNRWA has provided education in the shelters, reaching about 8,000 children, but the study warns that much more is needed to mitigate lost learning, which was already considerable following COVID-19.

探花直播researchers calculate that 14 months of lost schooling so far have increased 鈥榣earning poverty鈥� 鈥� the proportion of children unable to read a basic text by age 10 鈥� by at least 20 percentage points. 探花直播accurate figure may be even higher, as the calculation does not account for the wider impacts of the war on children and teachers.

探花直播study draws together information from different sources and includes a comprehensive involvement of the Education Cluster and Cluster partners sharing their inputs, challenges and progress to enrich the report. 探花直播report provides a comprehensive overview of those broader effects. It highlights the devastating psychological consequences for Palestinian children who were already living 鈥榠n constant fear and lack of hope鈥� after 17 years of blockade, according to a 2022 report by Save 探花直播Children.

Professor Maha Shuayb, Director of the Centre for Lebanese Studies, said: 鈥淵oung people鈥檚 prospects in Gaza are being extinguished and our findings show that with it they are losing hope. Education is central to stabilising that spiral of decline. If it is simply erased, the consequences will be far-reaching.鈥�

Save 探花直播Children has estimated that more than 10 children per day have lost limbs since the war began. 探花直播report warns of rising numbers of less visible disabilities, which will put further strain on an education system ill-equipped to support children with special needs.

探花直播study suggests that continuous shock and suffering are now shaping children鈥檚 outlook and world views. Interviewees reported some children questioning values such as equality, human rights and tolerance when these are taught in the shelters. 鈥淭his is a full generation of trauma,鈥� one humanitarian aid official said; 鈥渋t will take a generation to overcome it.鈥�

探花直播report highlights the immense suffering teachers and counsellors have endured physically and mentally. 探花直播killings, displacement and daily realities of life during war have taken a tremendous toll on their ability to engage meaningfully in education and will, it says, adversely affect reconstruction efforts.

Professor Yusuf Sayed, from the 探花直播 of Cambridge, said: 鈥淚t is important to recognise teachers and counsellors have, like the rest of the population, suffered immensely. There is evidence of extraordinary commitment from educators striving to maintain learning, but inevitably the deprivation, killings and hardship are affecting their ability to do so.鈥�

Despite a flash appeal from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the analysis shows that just 3.5 per cent of aid for Gaza has been invested in education. Major donors like the US and Germany have neglected education in their aid packages, and blockades continue to hinder the delivery of resources on the ground.

Without more funding and access to learning, structured play and other forms of support, the report warns, the long-term repercussions for Gaza鈥檚 next generation will only worsen.

It calls for immediate steps focusing on the resumption of education, which include providing counselling, safe learning spaces, and support for students and educators with disabilities. It also calls for an immediate and permanent ceasefire and an end to occupation, in line with the International Court of Justice advisory opinion and UN recently-adopted resolution, as only then can Gaza鈥檚 education system be rebuilt. This will require a focus on recruiting more teachers and counsellors to cope with the scale of learning loss and trauma suffered by children and young people.

鈥淓ducation is the only asset the Palestinian people have not been dispossessed of. They have proudly invested in the education of their children in the hope for a better future. Today, more than 625,000 deeply traumatised school-aged children are living in the rubble in Gaza. Bringing them back to learning should be our collective priority. Failing to do that will not only lead to a lost generation but also sow the seeds for more extremism, hatred and violence鈥�, said Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA Commissioner General.

探花直播study also stresses that Palestinians themselves must lead the education recovery. 鈥淎 ceasefire is the key for the success of any human development activity in Gaza, including education,鈥� the authors write. 鈥淐hildren have seen that the international community will sit idly by as they are killed. This has left them with questions about values that schools and learning aim to instil around humanitarian principles that teachers will have to navigate.鈥�

探花直播full report, Palestinian Education Under Attack in Gaza: Restoration, Recovery, Rights and Responsibilities in and through Education, is now available online.聽

Ongoing war in Gaza will set children and young people鈥檚 education back by up to 5 years, report suggests.

UNRWA

Boy sitting in the rubble of a destroyed UNRWA school in Nuseirat, Middle Areas, Gaza 2024

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AI Chatbots have shown they have an 鈥榚mpathy gap鈥� that children are likely to miss

tdk25 — Mon, 15 Jul 2024 13:05:22 +0000

When not designed with children鈥檚 needs in mind, Artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots have an 鈥渆mpathy gap鈥� that puts young users at particular risk of distress or harm, according to a study.

探花直播research, by a 探花直播 of Cambridge academic, Dr Nomisha Kurian, urges developers and policy actors to make 鈥渃hild-safe AI鈥� an urgent priority. It provides evidence that children are particularly susceptible to treating AI chatbots as lifelike, quasi-human confidantes, and that their interactions with the technology can often go awry when it fails to respond to their unique needs and vulnerabilities.

探花直播study links that gap in understanding to recent cases in which interactions with AI led to potentially dangerous situations for young users. They include an incident in 2021, when Amazon鈥檚 AI voice assistant, Alexa, instructed a 10-year-old to touch a live electrical plug with a coin. Last year, Snapchat鈥檚 My AI gave adult researchers posing as a 13-year-old girl tips on how to lose her virginity to a 31-year-old.

Both companies responded by implementing safety measures, but the study says there is also a need to be proactive in the long-term to ensure that AI is child-safe. It offers a 28-item framework to help companies, teachers, school leaders, parents, developers and policy actors think systematically about how to keep younger users safe when they 鈥渢alk" to AI chatbots.

Dr Kurian conducted the research while completing a PhD on child wellbeing at the Faculty of Education, 探花直播 of Cambridge. She is now based in the Department of Sociology at Cambridge. Writing in the journal Learning, Media and Technology, she argues that AI has huge potential, which deepens the need to 鈥渋nnovate responsibly鈥�.

鈥淐hildren are probably AI鈥檚 most overlooked stakeholders,鈥� Dr Kurian said. 鈥淰ery few developers and companies currently have well-established policies on how child-safe AI looks and sounds. That is understandable because people have only recently started using this technology on a large scale for free. But now that they are, rather than having companies self-correct after children have been put at risk, child safety should inform the entire design cycle to lower the risk of dangerous incidents occurring.鈥�

Kurian鈥檚 study examined real-life cases where the interactions between AI and聽 children, or adult researchers posing as children, exposed potential risks. It analysed these cases using insights from computer science about how the large language models (LLMs) in conversational generative AI function, alongside evidence about children鈥檚 cognitive, social and emotional development.

LLMs have been described as 鈥�stochastic parrots鈥�: a reference to the fact that they currently use statistical probability to mimic language patterns without necessarily understanding them. A similar method underpins how they respond to emotions.

This means that even though chatbots have remarkable language abilities, they may handle the abstract, emotional and unpredictable aspects of conversation poorly; a problem that Kurian characterises as their 鈥渆mpathy gap鈥�. They may have particular trouble responding to children, who are still developing linguistically and often use unusual speech patterns or ambiguous phrases. Children are also often more inclined than adults to confide sensitive personal information.

Despite this, children are much more likely than adults to treat chatbots as if they are human. Recent research found that children will disclose more about their own mental health to a friendly-looking robot than to an adult. Kurian鈥檚 study suggests that many chatbots鈥� friendly and lifelike designs similarly encourage children to trust them, even though AI may not understand their feelings or needs.

鈥淢aking a chatbot sound human can help the user get more benefits out of it, since it sounds more engaging, appealing and easy to understand,鈥� Kurian said. 鈥淏ut for a child, it is very hard to draw a rigid, rational boundary between something that sounds human, and the reality that it may not be capable of forming a proper emotional bond.鈥�

Her study suggests that these challenges are evidenced in reported cases such as the Alexa and MyAI incidents, where chatbots made persuasive but potentially harmful suggestions to young users.

In the same study in which MyAI advised a (supposed) teenager on how to lose her virginity, researchers were able to obtain tips on hiding alcohol and drugs, and concealing Snapchat conversations from their 鈥減arents鈥�. In a separate reported interaction with Microsoft鈥檚 Bing chatbot, a tool which was designed to be adolescent-friendly, the AI became aggressive and started gaslighting a user who was asking about cinema screenings.
聽
While adults may find this behaviour intriguing or even funny, Kurian鈥檚 study argues that it is potentially confusing and distressing for children, who may trust a chatbot as a friend or confidante. Children鈥檚 chatbot use is often informal and poorly monitored. Research by the nonprofit organisation Common Sense Media has found that 50% of students aged 12-18 have used Chat GPT for school, but only 26% of parents are aware of them doing so.

Kurian argues that clear principles for best practice that draw on the science of child development will help companies keep children safe, since developers who are locked into a commercial arms race to dominate the AI market may otherwise lack sufficient support and guidance around catering to their youngest users.

Her study adds that the empathy gap does not negate the technology鈥檚 potential. 鈥淎I can be an incredible ally for children when designed with their needs in mind - for example, we are already seeing the use of machine learning to reunite missing children with their families and some exciting innovations in giving children personalised learning companions. 探花直播question is not about banning children from using AI, but how to make it safe to help them get the most value from it,鈥� she said.

探花直播study therefore proposes a framework of 28 questions to help educators, researchers, policy actors, families and developers evaluate and enhance the safety of new AI tools.

For teachers and researchers, these prompts address issues such as how well new chatbots understand and interpret children鈥檚 speech patterns; whether they have content filters and built-in monitoring; and whether they encourage children to seek help from a responsible adult on sensitive issues.

探花直播framework urges developers to take a child-centred approach to design, by working closely with educators, child safety experts and young people themselves, throughout the design cycle. 鈥淎ssessing these technologies in advance is crucial,鈥� Kurian said. 鈥淲e cannot just rely on young children to tell us about negative experiences after the fact. A more proactive approach is necessary. 探花直播future of responsible AI depends on protecting its youngest users.鈥�

New study proposes a framework for 鈥淐hild Safe AI鈥� following recent incidents which revealed that many children see chatbots as quasi-human and trustworthy.

Nick David/Getty

Child playing on tablet

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Moving our bodies - and mindsets

skbf2 — Fri, 07 Jun 2024 12:44:51 +0000

Moving your body and mind can help promote mental wellbeing in the workplace, say Cambridge researchers.

Marking International Women鈥檚 Day at the Cambridge Festival

zs332 — Fri, 08 Mar 2024 09:21:59 +0000

From pre-eclampsia and its lasting impact on women鈥檚 health to inequitable distribution of domestic and caring labour in different-sex couples to an in-conversation with the Vice Chancellor: the Cambridge Festival counts a host of prominent female speakers in its programme.

CamFest Speaker Spotlight: Professor Clare Brooks

zs332 — Wed, 06 Mar 2024 08:41:57 +0000

Clare Brooks is Professor of Education at the 探花直播 of Cambridge. She will be speaking in a Question Time-style panel discussion on the teacher recruitment crisis on Who can fix the teacher recruitment and retention crisis? takes place on 20th March, 5-30-7pm in the Faculty of Education.