Towards child-centred AI in children's learning futures: Participatory design futuring with SmartSchool and the co-design stories toolkit

What are children's perspectives on how AI could impact their learning futures? The concept of child-centered AI (CCAI) highlights the importance of children's involvement and their rights in the design of AI futures. However, a gap remains in translating CCAI goals from theory and policy into practice – a gap which HCI and Participatory Design seem well-placed to address. We conducted initial, exploratory Participatory Design Futuring (PDF) workshops with 14 children (aged 3–10) and their families in the UK, envisioning a futuristic design client, ‘SmartSchool’, who sought AI solutions to make learning better and more playful in the year 2123. We contribute, firstly, the Co-Design Stories Toolkit, an adaptable tool for participatory research, here applied with a PDF framing to springboard into speculative imaginaries on AI and learning. Secondly, we contribute a set of child-led narratives and design concepts on AI's impact on learning futures and child rights, foregrounding what matters about AI to children themselves.