AI Ethics for Children Must Begin in the Classroom

The classroom must be the place where children learn that important decisions cannot simply be handed over to algorithms. The 42nd National Children’s Day on 23 July 2026 carries the theme ‘Love Children, Protect and Build the Future’. This theme is increasingly relevant as Artificial Intelligence (AI) begins to feature in children’s development, helping them complete homework, translate readings, create images, prepare presentations, and even become conversational companions. If AI helps shape how children learn and understand the world, its ethical education cannot wait until they are adults. AI ethics must start in the classroom as early as possible. Indonesia has more than 80 million children. A UNICEF evaluation published in 2026 shows that 99.4 per cent of children in its baseline study use the internet, for an average of 5.4 hours a day. However, only 37.5 per cent have ever received information about online safety. This figure is a research sample finding, not a national estimate. Nevertheless, the gap between the intensity of usage and readiness to face digital risks appears very wide. Schools, therefore, cannot merely teach how to use AI. Children need to understand why machines can produce incorrect, biased, or discriminatory answers. They must also be taught what data is collected and who is responsible when its use causes harm. The urgency is even greater after coding and artificial intelligence began to be implemented as elective subjects starting in the 2025/2026 academic year. This policy is a strategic step. However, AI education must not be reduced to just the ability to write code and create prompts. Without ethics, technical skills can actually increase a child’s capacity to produce deepfakes, commit plagiarism, spread false information, or process other people’s data without consent. Literacy remains incomplete.