Problem and Hypothesis
Children and caretakers struggle to identify and communicate emotions effectively.
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Hypothesis: A playful AI ecosystem could foster emotional education and support for children and enable healthy communication between children and adults. This particular hypothesis was inspired by children's initial sketches and ideas for AI solutions.
Process
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Discovery: Analyzed children’s ideas from the ACM “Building a More Compassionate World” challenge to ground solutions in real problems and needs identified by kids worldwide.
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Interpretation & Definition: Extracted and mapped key concepts, features, and age ranges into a mindmap, always tied back to the mission of fostering compassion.
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Framework: Combined team expertise (neuroscience, UX research, visual/competitive analysis) to brainstorm, map user journeys, and create personas that reflected children’s pains and gains.
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Design & Prototype: Developed Zen, an AI assistant accessed through a bracelet and/or plushie-tablet system, guiding kids in recognizing emotions and building emotional maturity.
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Parent/Teacher App: Designed a companion app for caregivers to monitor emotional growth and receive alerts in cases of bullying, abuse, or conflict.
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Academic Contribution: Submitted findings and prototypes, selected as finalist for the 22nd annual ACM Interaction Design and Children (IDC) Conference in Chicago.
Impact and Learnings
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Project gained academic recognition and was included in research discussions.
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Demonstrated design thinking applied to child development and AI ethics.
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I learned that designing for children requires clarity, playfulness, and strong ethical grounding.
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Children have amazing ideas and they can truly know what they want and need, they just have a different way of communicating. Our proposal was inspired by their great ideas.
