Artificial Intelligence is no longer the stuff of science fiction. It is woven into the fabric of daily life - shaping classrooms, jobs, conversations, and even the ways we think. But as governments, corporations, a n d experts debate AI’s promises and perils, one group has been conspicuously absent from the table: children. This omission is not just negligent. It is dangerous. Children will inherit a world profoundly shaped by AI - yet their perspectives are rarely heard, and their vulnerabil i ties often ignored.

Children Are Not Passive Users

Research from the University of California, Irvine, has shown that children as young as three attribute “thoughts and feelings” to smart devices. They grow up in a world where virtual assistants respond instantly, where algorithms curate their entertainment, and where digital companions feel eerily human.

In Sri Lanka, children are interacting with AI-powered plat forms every day - from YouTube’s recommendat i o n engines to language learning apps. But unlike adults, they lack the cognitive tools to question what they see. Their trust is instinctive, the ircritical filters still developing. This makes them both early adopters and easy targets.

AI Could Empower - or Entrench Inequality

The potential benefits of AI are undeniable. It could revolutionise education in rural Sri Lanka, offering personalised learning to students who lack access to quality teaching. It could assist in healthcare delivery, enhance disaster preparedness, and open new avenues for creativity. But these benefits will only materialise i f access is fair and inclusive. The digital divide between urban and rural Sri Lanka is real and persistent. Without deliberate policy action, AI could deepen these inequalities, creating a generation of “AI-fluent” children in Colombo and “digitally marginalised” children elsewhere.

The Dangers Are Mounting

The World Economic Forum recently warned that children face a unique set of AI-related risks:

• Digital inequality that compounds existing social divides
• Manipulation, bias and misinformation targeting young, impressionable minds
• Environmental costs associated with AI infrastructure
• And a policy and regulatory vacuum that leaves children exposed to harms adults barely understand themselves

Sri Lanka has already seen the consequences of unregulated digital spaces - from cyberbullying to political misinformation. With generative AI capable of producing hyper-realistic fake media, those risks will multiply unless we act decisively.

Education Is the First Line of Defence

If we want to prepare children for this new reality, the solution is not to shield them from AI, but to equip them to navigate it. Critical thinking, media literacy, and AI literacy must become foundational skills - as essential as reading and mathematics. Children must learn to question what they encounter online, to understand who is behind the information they consume, and to think independently. This demands bold curriculum reforms, investment in teacher training, and national leadership. We cannot afford to let AI education remain a privilege of elite schools.

Children Must Be Heard - Not Just Protected

Protection is not enough. Participation matters. Too often, decisions about technology are made by adults for children, without ever consulting them. But children perceive the digital world differently. Their insights can expose blind spots in policymaking and product design. Inviting children to participate - through youth councils, school debates, and participatory policymaking - is not a symbolic gesture. It is a democratic imperative. If AI is to serve society, it must reflect the voices of all its citizens, including the youngest.

Sri Lanka’s Strategic Choice

Sri Lanka has a proud tradition of valuing education. But that legacy will mean little if we fail to adapt it to the realities of the AI age. We stand at a strategic crossroads: treat children as passive recipients of AI, or empower them as active shapers of its future. The choice is urgent. AI is moving fast, and childhood is fleeting. If we delay, we risk raising a generation that is digitally connected but critically unprepared - fluent in using AI, but powerless in shaping it. Children deserve a seat at the AI table. The time to pull up that chair is now. The writer is a [your role/profession], writing on technology, education, and society.