Birkbeck launches pioneering AI and child development PhD programme thanks to major investment from funders. The £400,000 in funding will support a new generation of researchers exploring how artificial intelligence (AI) is shaping early childhood development.
The funding will establish four fully-supported PhD studentships as part of The CareTech Foundation and ESRC UBEL funded Doctoral Training Programme, and Blakebank Trust PhD Programme in AI and the Developing Child — a pioneering training programme led by Professor Denis Mareschal, Director of Birkbeck’s Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development (CBCD).
The first-of-its-kind PhD programme will bring together interdisciplinary expertise in cognitive neuroscience and AI to address urgent questions about how AI-enabled technologies are reshaping childhood, from learning and curiosity to social development and family life. Advances in AI are creating new opportunities for more personalised learning and support, including for children from under-resourced backgrounds and those across the spectrum of neurodiversity. At the same time, as AI becomes embedded in everyday life, there is growing concern around how these technologies influence brain, cognitive and social development from early childhood through to adolescence.
By generating robust evidence in this emerging field, the programme will help provide guidance for parents, educators and policymakers on the responsible use of AI to improve children’s developmental outcomes, while helping to ensure children and young people are equipped with the skills they need to thrive in an increasingly AI-driven world.
This initiative comes at a critical moment, as national policy and public debate increasingly turn to the impact of screen time and digital technologies on young children. Recent UK Government guidance for parents of under-fives has underscored the need for evidence-based insights into how emerging technologies shape early development, precisely what these PhD studentships are designed to address.
The PhD researchers will work across priority research areas, including how AI shapes children’s learning and problem solving, its influence on trust and authority of parents in the household, and how children’s brains respond when interacting with AI compared to humans. By embedding doctoral training within Birkbeck’s world-leading CBCD, which has over 25 years of expertise in studying brain and cognitive development, the programme aims to create a pipeline of highly-skilled researchers equipped to guide policy and practice in an AI-driven world.
Find out more about the PhD studentships, including eligibility criteria and how to apply here.