Youth AI designs meet eternal values: responsible digital technology design and innovation education

Critical and reflective thinking towards technology should be fostered in adolescents, who represent future citizens with influential professions. Prior research has proposed an understanding of business as a crucial aspect of this endeavour. Our study explores how to cultivate responsible business thinking among adolescents in relation to the design and use of future technologies. To achieve this objective, we analysed data generated by 12 adolescents aged 15–17, as they created business ideas for sustainable innovations leveraging artificial intelligence. We examined their perceptions of technology and business within a value framework inspired by Zoroastrianism, a religion with a value base that has influenced cultures, other religions, and civilisations globally. Drawing from our findings, we propose key elements for responsible digital technology design and innovation education for adolescents, holding the potential to enhance their critical thinking and ethical engagement with future technologies.