Children's Fundamental Rights in Human-Robot Interaction Research

Abstract

Citizens and policy institutions increasingly express their concerns regarding the emerging challenges in the context of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and have concrete demands for the protection of human rights. In parallel, studies in the field of AI and Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) indicate the impact of social robots on children's development. We conducted a systematic review based on UNICEF's AI Policy Guidance to map the landscape of research on social robots and children's rights. We used the PRISMA method and identified N=37 papers that address one of the rights, which we then annotated to indicate tendencies and areas of alignment and misalignment with the UNICEF guidance. Our findings reveal that although the field of HRI is looking at specific rights, with a focus on inclusion, some of the rights have been under-researched. Furthermore, we observed a misalignment between HRI and UNICEF regarding the terminology. With this paper, we hope to bring awareness to the field of HRI regarding children's rights and to highlight directions for alignment among research, societal needs, and policy.