Framing the Machine: Teaching Children to Question Al’s Voice
Abstract
Children are already encountering AI-generated answers in their learning journeys. The critical question is whether these encounters are framed with pedagogical care, ethical oversight, and developmental awareness or left to the fluency of systems optimized for prediction, not truth. This column argues for structural safeguards in educational AI: tools, interfaces, and delays that prioritize human interpretation over algorithmic authority. At stake is not simply what AI says, but how we choose to hear it, and how we prepare learners to respond. We, therefore, advocate educator-governed interaction layers that mediate between learners and model outputs by operationalizing delays, human oversight, and auditability; one such reference implementation has been piloted in primary classrooms.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Ethics and Social Impacts of AI
Intelligent Tutoring Systems and Adaptive Learning
Teaching and Learning Programming
Publication details
- Journal / source
- IEEE Technology and Society Magazine
- Publisher
- Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
- Volume
- 45
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 15–22
- Publication date
- 1 March 2026