The world of education is rapidly evolving. We must support learners, teachers and families in transitioning from reactionary to proactive– centering their flourishing in the new frontier of generative AI and collaborative robots. TeddyBot is a pioneering startup harnessing the power of privacy-centric embodied AI to create a more engaging, inclusive and effective learning experience.
Our workshop will be guided by three facilitators with expertise across early childhood education, embodied AI, data privacy, robotics, emerging technologies, counteracting misinformation, and social media trust and safety practices.
The session will include:
(1) Interactive testing of TeddyBot, a plush AI family learning companion that provides learner-led, engaging play and educational support, personalized to each child’s unique interests and developmental needs. TeddyBot is a teddy bear that empowers kids to engage in the world off-the-screen through enriching conversation, imaginative make-believe, educational games, creative prompts, mindfulness and focus support, and is kind and wise, and surprisingly funny. We have been testing TeddyBot with all ages and every single time we learn something new, whether it is an immersive journey through the real life of a famous female explorer, a dance move game that teaches facts about the wonders of space, a meditation on the interconnected tree of knowledge, or a helpful mock conversation that teaches how to apologize to a friend. TeddyBot is inspired by the quote often attributed to Benjamin Franklin: “Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.”
(2) Debate about the ethical concerns and challenges of supporting children’s’ education with embodied AI. We will also discuss the practical aspects of integrating embodied AI into existing educational context– technological barriers, teacher training, and student engagement strategies– not just in the US, but around the world, drawing upon one of the facilitator’s thirty years of experience teaching in the US and throughout Africa. We will discuss strategies for educators and parents who are evaluating different generative AI education solutions. We will also share case studies from TeddyBot pilot tests that highlight the transformative impact TeddyBot has on children’s engagement and learning progress.
(3) Discussion about tangible solutions to ensure data privacy, user ownership of data, consensual sharing of anonymized data to improve research into learning intervention efficacy, and transparent communication to parents and teachers about algorithmic impact, ensuring that users are the foremost beneficiaries of insights drawn from their data. One of our facilitators has been a data privacy activist for several decades and was one of the pioneers of Self-Sovereign Identity, as well as a co-founder of the United Nation ID2020 project and the lead architect of one of the world’s fastest blockchain transaction networks (over 1 million transactions per second). Participants will discuss methods to assert new ethical data standards for embodied AI and collaborative robots.
The facilitators will engage participants through question prompts, brainstorming exercises, and, most importantly, hands on engagement with TeddyBot. They will be encouraged to ask as many questions as they like, testing TeddyBot’s responses and guardrails, while envisioning the ideal integration of embodied AI into family and youth learning experiences.
