Child Safety & AI Use Policy

1. Parent consent comes first

Every student participates with the explicit consent of a parent or legal guardian. Applications must be submitted by a parent or guardian, and parents remain our primary point of contact throughout the program.

2. Teacher-guided AI use

Students use AI tools inside structured, instructor-supervised workflows. We teach students how these tools work, where they fail (hallucination, bias), and how to verify outputs — not just how to get answers.

3. Academic integrity

• We never encourage or assist AI-written homework for school.
• Students must be able to explain and defend every part of their project.
• Fact-checking and citation are taught explicitly and required in project work.
• AI is positioned as a collaborator to direct, not an oracle to copy.

4. Privacy and data minimization

• We collect only the information needed to run the program.
• We do not collect unnecessary sensitive information about children.
• We do not publish students' full names, photos, schools, or contact details.
• Student work is published only with explicit parent permission, using first names or aliases.

5. Product design ethics

• We do not provide emotional-companion AI services.
• We do not use addictive design mechanics: no streaks, no engagement loops, no dark patterns.
• This is a structured course with a beginning and an end — by design.

6. Parent visibility

Parents receive progress updates during the cohort and a full recap after Demo Day. Parents may contact us at any time to review their child's participation or data.

7. Reporting concerns

If you have any concern about your child's experience or safety in the program, contact us at admissions@theaiyouthlab.com. Safety concerns are reviewed by program leadership within one business day.