Child-Safe AI Companions

Definition

Child-Safe AI Companions is the systematic study and design of conditions, interventions and safeguards affecting children or families within digital child protection.

Why this matters

Children have evolving capabilities and limited power over many systems affecting them. Errors in child-safe ai companions can create developmental, relational, educational, health or safety consequences that persist.

Research questions

What boundaries, memory rules and escalation behaviours are required for AI companions used by children?

Hypotheses

Companions with bounded relational language, visible non-human identity and safety escalation will reduce dependency and unsafe disclosure.

Proposed methods

mixed-method child-safety assurance programme using red-team simulation, incident and case review, age-stratified usability testing, survivor-informed design, operational pathway exercises and independent safeguarding review; adapted specifically to Child-Safe AI Companions; child-appropriate participatory methods; caregiver and practitioner input; age-stratified analysis; validated developmental measures; service-pathway testing; safeguarding review; delayed or longitudinal follow-up; implementation-fidelity assessment

Stakeholders and beneficiaries

children; parents; carers; eSafety regulators; police; child-protection agencies; platforms; schools; helplines; civil-society organisations; child-safe ai companions specialists; lived-experience family advisory panel; independent child-rights reviewer