Advancing Research on AI and Child Development: Interactive Discussion of Priority Questions, Methods, Safety, and Policy
We propose an interactive webinar focused on best practices for conducting interdisciplinary research at the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and child development. The session will engage key domains, including cognitive and socioemotional development, health, ethics, and policy, and will emphasize high-priority research questions, policy implications, and translational relevance.
In contrast to a conventional panel of formal presentations, the webinar will be structured as a facilitated, collaborative exchange. SRCD members will be invited to briefly share ongoing work, articulate disciplinary assumptions and constraints, and jointly identify high-priority research questions. The discussion will also surface methodological challenges and highlight practical pathways for building interdisciplinary collaborations and research networks in this emerging area.
A central aim is to create a scholarly space where diverse perspectives on AI, ranging from opportunities for innovation to concerns about risk, equity, and unintended consequences, can be discussed constructively, with a focus on defining an actionable research agenda for developmental scientists and allied fields.
Meet the Webinar Presenters
Pilyoung Kim, Ph.D. - Professor, University of Denver
Dr. Pilyoung Kim is Professor of Psychology at the University of Denver and Director of the Center for Brain, Artificial Intelligence, and Child (BAIC). She is also currently a Visiting Scholar at the Accelerator for Learning at the Stanford Graduate School of Education. Her scholarship has focused on brain development and human emotional bonding, especially in parent-child relationships. At the BAIC Center, she integrates developmental science and AI design to promote child well-being and safety. Her current research examines the emotional and social dimensions of child-AI interactions, with particular emphasis on AI safety and the Social and Emotional AI Literacy (SEAL) framework.
Dr. Kim earned her Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from Cornell University and completed postdoctoral training at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). She has authored more than 100 publications, and her research has been supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Sonya Negriff, Ph.D. - Research Scientist, Kaiser Permanente
Dr. Sonya Negriff is a Research Scientist in the Department of Research & Evaluation at Kaiser Permanente Southern California and an Associate Professor in the Kaiser Permanente Bernard J Tyson School of Medicine. She is a developmental psychologist with expertise in the biological embedding of early adversity and the consequences on physical and mental health. Her research within the context of healthcare focuses on improving processes for clinicians to identify children at risk for abuse or neglect as well as developing predictive models for screening adolescents at risk for substance abuse.
Dr. Negriff integrates training from developmental psychology, endocrinology, adolescent medicine, epigenetics, psychophysiology, bioinformatics, natural language processing, and machine learning into her work with the goal of generating evidence that can inform real-world applications to improve child health.
Christabel Randolph - Associate Director, Center for AI and Digital Policy
Christabel Randolph is an international legal expert on AI. She is the Associate Director at the Center for AI and Digital Policy (CAIDP), where she leads the US AI law and Policy Group and coordinates high-level advice to the U.S. Congress, federal agencies, and state legislatures. She possesses over a decade of experience navigating complex international regulatory landscapes. Her expertise in AI governance has been featured at MIT’s EmTech, Columbia Business School, Berkeley's CITRIS Policy Lab, and the Atlantic Council.
Her commentary on AI laws, fundamental rights, and democratic institutions have appeared in The New York Times, Tech Policy Press, the Journal of AI Law & Regulation, and legal volumes from Kluwer.
Sen Wang, Ph.D. - Research Assistant Professor, Boston University
Dr. Sen Wang is a Research Assistant Professor at Boston University Wheelock College of Education & Human Development. Her research focuses on children’s language and literacy development, particularly how vocabulary and knowledge accumulate over time to support reading comprehension. Grounded in an instructional-core framework, her work examines how explicit instruction and teacher- or caregiver–child interactions promote word learning and conceptual growth.
She also investigates how children’s engagement with books, multimedia, and technology-enhanced learning environments expands access to rich linguistic input. Additionally, her research explores how the linguistic and conceptual qualities of books and digital media—such as lexical features—shape children’s learning opportunities and long-term language development.
