The ACM Interaction Design and Children (IDC) Conference is a premier international forum for researchers, designers, and educators to explore how technology can enhance children's lives, learning, and play. Held annually since 2002, the conference focuses on inclusive, child-centred design, covering topics like interactive technologies, AI, and ethical design for children.

Submission Guidelines

Where Do Trust, Design, and Evaluation Meet in Child–AI Interaction?

The second edition of the C3AI workshop focuses on understanding how trust, doubt, and critical engagement emerge in children’s interactions with AI. As children increasingly use conversational AI systems not originally designed for them, it becomes urgent to ensure interactions are ethical, transparent, developmentally appropriate, and supportive of children’s agency. This workshop examines the human factors—cognitive, emotional, social, and cultural—that shape how children interpret AI behaviour, navigate uncertainty, and develop expectations about what AI can and cannot do.

By shifting from hypothetical scenarios to real, naturalistic child–AI interactions, this edition takes a deeper look at developmental trajectories of trust. Participants will analyse age-diverse transcripts and personas to uncover how children express confidence, hesitation, critique, or curiosity across different ages and contexts. The workshop also aims to co-design developmentally sensitive evaluation metrics that can inform future child-centred, responsible AI design.

This workshop invites a diverse community of researchers, practitioners, educators, designers, and policymakers to explore topics including:

• Reviewing, adapting, or extending human-centred AI frameworks for children

• Understanding developmental differences in children’s mental models of AI

• Tailoring transparency and explainability to children’s cognitive needs

• Participatory and co-evaluation methods involving children as active contributors

• Cultural and contextual influences on children’s trust and doubt

• Developing indicators and metrics for trust, critique, transparency, and usability

• Designing AI systems that support awareness of limitations and foster healthy skepticism

• Ethical, rights-based approaches to child–AI interaction (e.g., UNCRC-aligned frameworks)

During the workshop, participants will work hands-on with organiser-provided transcripts and personas—ethically approved, age-diverse materials drawn from real studies—as well as participant-contributed cases, when time allows. Together, we will explore emotional and cognitive aspects such as agency, adaptability, misunderstanding, mutual awareness, and the evolving nature of trust. These analyses will help identify cultural and social patterns that shape children’s experiences with AI and will contribute to prototype evaluation tools aimed at supporting safer, more transparent, and developmentally aware AI systems for young users.

Organizing committee

• Grazia Ragone
• Zhen Bai
• Judith Good
• Ayca Atabey

Invited Speakers

• Jason C.Yip

Bio:

 Jason Yip is an Associate Professor at the Information School and an adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Human-Centered Design and Engineering at the University of Washington. His research examines how technologies can support parents and children learning together. He is a co-principal investigator on a National Science Foundation Cyberlearning project on designing social media technologies to support neighborhoods learning science together. He is the director of KidsTeam UW, an intergenerational group of children (ages 7 – 11) and researchers co-designing new technologies and learning activities for children, with children. Dr. Yip is the principal investigator of a Google Faculty Research Award project that examines how Latino children search and broker online information for their English-language learning parents. He is a senior research fellow at the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop. He holds a B.A. (2001) in chemistry and M.S.Ed (2002) in science and math education from the University of Pennsylvania, and a Ph.D. (2014) in curriculum and instruction from the University of Maryland.

• How to Submit

We invite you to submit a short memo or extended abstract about a project you are working on, a question you are struggling with, or an idea you would like to discuss around child–AI interaction and human-centred AI for children. Alternatively, you can submit a concise position paper that may be considered for publication.

You can choose one of the following submission types:

Submission Types

• Short papers (2–3 pages, ACM Standard Template)Present insights, empirical findings, methods, or reflections on child–AI interaction and the topics listed in the Call for Participation.

• Abstracts (300–500 words)Summarise an idea, early-stage project, or key question you would like to explore in the workshop.

• Design examples (600–800 words): Describe design concepts, prototypes, interaction scenarios, or tools related to child–AI interaction.

• Case studies

  • Abstract (300–500 words), plus

  • Supporting visuals (e.g., images or video). Case study submissions may be used as material in group activities during the workshop, subject to time constraints.

Submissions will be managed via EasyChair, and up to 30 participants will be selected based on the quality, relevance, and diversity of their submissions. Accepted submissions will be featured on the workshop website. At least one author per accepted submission must register for both the workshop and the main conference and attend the workshop in person.

Submission site: https://easychair.org/cfp/2ndC3AI

Whether you are developing AI tools that support creative expression, building platforms for inclusive learning, or studying how AI shapes children’s development, we warmly welcome your contribution.

Join us in shaping a future where AI helps children think critically, stay curious, and grow as confident, thoughtful technology users.

Venue

The conference will be held in Leonardo Royal Hotel Brighton Waterfront

Contact

All questions about submissions should be emailed to grazia.ragone@uniba.it, zhen.bai@rochester.edu, j.a.good@uva.nl, a.atabey@ed.ac.uk