2025
Kenny, Sadhbh, Antle, Alissa N., Russell, Gillian, Kitson, Alexandra, Veldhuis, Annemiek
Beyond the Algorithm: Speculative Approaches to Critical AI Literacies with Diverse Youth Proceedings Article
In: Proceedings of the 24th Interaction Design and Children, pp. 89-105, Association for Computing Machinery, 2025, ISBN: 9798400714733.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: artificial intelligence, computational empowerment, critical ai literacy, speculative design, youth
@inproceedings{nokey,
title = {Beyond the Algorithm: Speculative Approaches to Critical AI Literacies with Diverse Youth},
author = {Kenny, Sadhbh and Antle, Alissa N. and Russell, Gillian and Kitson, Alexandra and Veldhuis, Annemiek},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1145/3713043.3727052},
doi = {10.1145/3713043.3727052},
isbn = {9798400714733},
year = {2025},
date = {2025-06-23},
urldate = {2025-06-23},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the 24th Interaction Design and Children},
pages = {89-105},
publisher = {Association for Computing Machinery},
series = {IDC '25},
abstract = {As Artificial Intelligence (AI) integrates into daily life, cultivating critical AI literacies (CAIL) is crucial for empowering youth to engage in informed decision-making and take democratic action. Despite daily AI interactions, many youth, particularly from marginalized communities, lack accessible opportunities to grasp AI’s socio-technical complexities. Speculative design, offers a novel approach for supporting CAIL by challenging normative assumptions, surfacing present day issues and imagining more preferred possibilities. This exploratory case study investigates how six diverse youth (ages 14-17) cultivated CAIL through a 2-hour speculative design workshop. Participants reimagined AI in alternative socio-cultural contexts, scrutinized AI implementations as socio-technical systems, and articulated diverse and competing perspectives on AI’s construction and impacts. Together, youth envisioned more just AI futures and engaged critically with its complexities. We discuss the potential for speculative approaches to deepen critical engagement and transformative agency in CAIL contexts. This proof-of-concept offers actionable design recommendations for future CAIL workshops.},
keywords = {artificial intelligence, computational empowerment, critical ai literacy, speculative design, youth},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
As Artificial Intelligence (AI) integrates into daily life, cultivating critical AI literacies (CAIL) is crucial for empowering youth to engage in informed decision-making and take democratic action. Despite daily AI interactions, many youth, particularly from marginalized communities, lack accessible opportunities to grasp AI’s socio-technical complexities. Speculative design, offers a novel approach for supporting CAIL by challenging normative assumptions, surfacing present day issues and imagining more preferred possibilities. This exploratory case study investigates how six diverse youth (ages 14-17) cultivated CAIL through a 2-hour speculative design workshop. Participants reimagined AI in alternative socio-cultural contexts, scrutinized AI implementations as socio-technical systems, and articulated diverse and competing perspectives on AI’s construction and impacts. Together, youth envisioned more just AI futures and engaged critically with its complexities. We discuss the potential for speculative approaches to deepen critical engagement and transformative agency in CAIL contexts. This proof-of-concept offers actionable design recommendations for future CAIL workshops.
Lo, Priscilla Y., Veldhuis, Annemiek, Antle, Alissa N., DiPaola, Steve
Noel: A Chatbot Persona to Support Children Designing for Others Proceedings Article
In: Proceedings of the 2025 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, Association for Computing Machinery, 2025, ISBN: 9798400713941.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: artificial intelligence, chatbot, children, design thinking, education, empathy, large language model, personas, visual impairment
@inproceedings{nokey,
title = {Noel: A Chatbot Persona to Support Children Designing for Others},
author = {Lo, Priscilla Y. and Veldhuis, Annemiek and Antle, Alissa N. and DiPaola, Steve},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1145/3706598.3713836},
doi = {10.1145/3706598.3713836},
isbn = {9798400713941},
year = {2025},
date = {2025-04-25},
urldate = {2025-04-25},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the 2025 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems},
publisher = {Association for Computing Machinery},
series = {CHI '25},
abstract = {Designing for others encourages children to empathize with and consider different perspectives and needs. A chatbot persona could allow children to design for stakeholder groups that are challenging to involve directly in educational activities, such as people with disabilities. In this paper, we explore how an artificial intelligence chatbot persona leveraging the GPT-4 large language model can support children’s design empathy while designing for others. We report the design, development process, and implementation of a chatbot persona representing a 12-year-old child with low vision named Noel. The exploratory case study consisted of three 90- to 120-minute workshop sessions with nineteen students (ages 11 to 13) in a grade 6/7 classroom. Results illustrate ways that Noel supported students throughout the design process, their expressions of design empathy, and their experiences. We present implications for developers and educators along with future directions for research},
keywords = {artificial intelligence, chatbot, children, design thinking, education, empathy, large language model, personas, visual impairment},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
Designing for others encourages children to empathize with and consider different perspectives and needs. A chatbot persona could allow children to design for stakeholder groups that are challenging to involve directly in educational activities, such as people with disabilities. In this paper, we explore how an artificial intelligence chatbot persona leveraging the GPT-4 large language model can support children’s design empathy while designing for others. We report the design, development process, and implementation of a chatbot persona representing a 12-year-old child with low vision named Noel. The exploratory case study consisted of three 90- to 120-minute workshop sessions with nineteen students (ages 11 to 13) in a grade 6/7 classroom. Results illustrate ways that Noel supported students throughout the design process, their expressions of design empathy, and their experiences. We present implications for developers and educators along with future directions for research