is a research project founded by the Swiss National Science Foundation.
and it is researched by Irene Zanardi and Prof. Dr. Monica Landoni
WHY IS NEEDED?
Emerging technologies such as Generative AI are increasingly shaping how children access information, express themselves, and imagine the world around them.
While these technologies are often presented as neutral or inherently beneficial, they can also reproduce existing social inequalities, biases, and power structures.
At the same time, children are frequently expected to navigate and shape these technological futures, yet they are rarely involved in meaningful ways in the conversations and design processes that influence them. Understanding how children participate, what values they hold, and which contextual factors support or constrain their engagement is therefore becoming increasingly important.
“If you don’t think that representation matter, then you are probably well represented.”
Bernice King
WHAT ARE WE FOCUSING ON?
Participatory Design has the potential to empower children as active contributors to technological futures, but participation does not happen in a vacuum.
Children are often expected to become critical and active citizens capable of shaping the technologies that affect their lives, yet they also remain embedded within the social norms, values, and power structures they are expected to question.
This research investigates the contextual factors that shape children’s participation in the design of emerging technologies. Through studies on Generative AI, gender stereotypes, and technology futures, we explore how the values of children, parents, researchers, and society influence participation, and how participatory processes can become more reflective, inclusive, and transformative.