Critical Artificial Intelligence literacy: A scoping review and framework synthesis

Abstract

The proliferation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in everyday life raises concerns for children, other marginalized groups, and the general public. As new AI implementations continue to emerge, it is crucial to enable children to engage critically with AI. Critical literacy objectives and practices can encourage children to question, critique, and transform the social, political, cultural, and ethical implications of AI. As an initial step towards critical AI education, we conducted a 10-year scoping review to identify publications reporting on activities that engage children, between the ages of 5 and 18, to address the critical implications of AI. Our review identifies a wide range of participants, content, and pedagogical approaches. Through framework synthesis guided by an established critical literacy model, we examine the critical literacy learning objectives embedded in the reported activities and propose a critical AI literacy framework. This paper outlines future opportunities for critical AI literacies in the field of child–computer interaction including inspiring new learning activities, encouraging inclusive perspectives, and supporting pragmatic curriculum integration.