AI & Children: The Benefits and the Harms
Equip educators with the research, warning signs, and protocols to protect students in the age of AI.
Professional Development for a New Era of Student Safety
A 90-minute, evidence-based training designed for middle and high school educators, counselors, and administrators. Grounded in the 2026 Common Sense Media Census and the latest research from Thorn, NCMEC, the FBI, the Internet Watch Foundation, and the U.S. Department of Education, this session gives your staff a clear, non-alarmist understanding of how generative AI is shaping students’ lives — for better and for worse.
Educators are the first responders when AI-related harm surfaces at school. This workshop equips them with practical tools to recognize the warning signs, respond with clear protocols, and build the AI literacy that keeps students safe. The guiding ethos throughout: precaution, not panic — connection over surveillance — literacy over bans.
Available Formats
- In-Person: Flexible, interactive sessions delivered at your school or district.
- Live Webinar/Online: Real-time virtual sessions for staff meetings and remote participation.
- Includes: A 90-slide deck, facilitator guide, and attendee takeaway handout.
AI & Children: The Benefits and the Harms — Workshop Outcomes
- The New Baseline
Understand how widely and how quickly students have adopted AI — 86% of kids 9–17 now use it — and where they meet it, including school devices. - Social-Emotional Effects
Explore AI companions, loneliness, and the parasocial pull of chatbots — and why some students feel AI “understands them better than people.” - Attention & Problematic Use
Learn how AI dependency forms, how dopamine reward loops operate in chatbots, and why struggling students lean hardest on AI. - Deepfakes & Synthetic Media
Recognize AI-generated images of students, understand the law, and learn the step-by-step response protocol for a school incident. - AI-Enabled Harassment
See how AI amplifies cyberbullying through image manipulation, impersonation, and generated pile-ons — and how to respond. - Sexual Exploitation & Sextortion
Understand financially motivated sextortion — the fastestgrowing threat to teens — AI-generated CSAM, and the universal response protocol.
- Grooming in the Age of AI
Learn how AI is used both as a predator’s tool and as a space where inappropriate content reaches children directly. - Academic Integrity
Move beyond “cheating” to why AI detectors fail, how to redesign assessment, and how to teach the judgment that real learning requires. - AI Literacy as a Core Skill
Equip students to verify AI output, recognize its limits, and use it transparently — the literacy that is also safety. - Conversation Starters
Gain ready-to-use, non-judgmental openers that invite students to reflect and that surface whether a human safety net exists. - Response Protocols
Take away clear, staff-ready protocols for deepfake and sextortion incidents — what to do, what not to do, and who to call. - Solutions & Recommendations
Leave with a three-horizon action plan — individual,school, and district — plus a 90-day starting timeline and family-partnership tools.
Why Should You Take This?
Schools:
Generative AI reached near-universal adoption among students in under four years — faster than social media — yet the safety and literacy conversation has lagged behind the usage. School districts must equip their administrators and educators with a current, evidence-based understanding of how AI is affecting students, both to guide learning and to protect wellbeing.
“AI & Children: The Benefits and the Harms” has been built specifically for educators, counselors, and administrators at the middle and high school levels. It offers a balanced, research-grounded look at where AI genuinely helps students and where it creates real risk — from deepfakes and sextortion to dependency and academic integrity — and it hands staff the protocols and literacy tools to respond. By investing in this training, schools empower their staff to navigate the complexities of AI safely and to safeguard the students in their care.
Organizations:
Community groups, youth-serving non-profits, and after-school programs play a crucial role in protecting children’s wellbeing online. Recognizing how quickly AI has become part of childhood — and how few kids have had a genuine AI-safety conversation — makes this workshop essential for any organization working with young people.
Tailored for professionals including counselors, youth workers, program staff, and volunteers, the workshop offers a practical exploration of the distinct risks generative AI poses to children — and the connection-centered, non-alarmist strategies that protect them. Through this training, organizations contribute to a safer digital environment and to the overall wellbeing of the young people they serve.
Let’s Bring a Workshop to Your School or Organization
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