AI's empathy gap: The risks of conversational Artificial Intelligence for young children's well-being and key ethical considerations for early childhood education and care

Rapid technological advancements make it easier than ever for young children to ‘talk to’ artificial intelligence (AI). Conversational AI models spanning education and entertainment include those specifically designed for early childhood education and care, as well as those not designed for young children but easily accessible by them. It is therefore crucial to critically analyse the ethical implications for children's well-being when a conversation with AI is just a click away. This colloquium flags the ‘empathy gap’ that characterises AI systems that are designed to mimic empathy, explaining the risks of erratic or inadequate responses for child well-being. It discusses key social and technical concerns, tracing how conversational AI may be unable to adequately respond to young children's emotional needs and the limits of natural language processing due to AI's operation within predefined contexts determined by training data. While proficient at recognising patterns and data associations, conversational AI can falter when confronted with unconventional speech patterns, imaginative scenarios or the playful, non-literal language that is typical of children's communication. In addition, societal prejudices can infiltrate AI training data or influence the output of conversational AI, potentially undermining young children's rights to safe, non-discriminatory environments. This colloquium therefore underscores the ethical imperative of safeguarding children and responsible child-centred design. It offers a set of practical considerations for policies, practices and critical ethical reflection on conversational AI for the field of early childhood education and care, emphasising the need for transparent communication, continual evaluation and robust guard rails to prioritise children's well-being.