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Enhancing child rights protection in Nigeria through artificial intelligence (AI)

Renforcer la protection des droits des enfants au Nigéria grâce à l’intelligence artificielle (IA)
Mejorar la protección de los derechos de los niños en nigeria a través de la inteligencia artificial (IA)
Ifeyinwa Nsude

Résumés

Cette étude a exploré comment l’Intelligence Artificielle (IA) pourrait être utilisée pour promouvoir la protection de l’enfance. La méthode de revue critique de la littérature a été employée pour explorer l’état de l’art de la littérature sur l’IA. L’étude s’est ancrée sur la Théorie de l’Établissement de l’Agenda et le Modèle d’Adoption Précautionneuse des Médias. Il a été déterminé que l’IA pourrait être utilisée de manière positive pour améliorer la protection de l’enfance. Cependant, il existe des défis dans l’utilisation de l’IA pour la protection de l’enfance, tels que : la faible sensibilisation dans les médias, le "sharenting" par les parents, la conception de l’IA non centrée sur l’humain par les industries technologiques, et l’ignorance de certains agents de sécurité dans l’utilisation des applications d’IA en ligne. Il est recommandé, entre autres, que les parents ne compromettent pas la vie privée de leurs enfants par le "sharenting" et qu’ils surveillent le type d’information à laquelle leurs enfants sont exposés via les technologies d’IA. Les États doivent mettre en place des mesures concrètes pour mettre en œuvre les lois sur les droits de l’enfant déjà inscrites dans la constitution ; s’assurer que les informations soient disponibles pour que les enfants eux-mêmes exercent leurs droits ; les médias doivent sensibiliser à l’utilisation de l’IA dans la protection de l’enfance ; et l’industrie technologique doit concevoir des systèmes d’IA adaptés aux enfants.

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Notes de l’auteur

Theme : Artificial Intelligence and Social Equity.
Thème : Intelligence artificielle et équité sociale.
Tema: inteligencia artificial y equidad social.
Date of symposium: May 15-17, 2023.
Venue : Bordeaux Montaigne University.

Texte intégral

Introduction

1Every human has fundamental rights which are constitutionally guaranteed. These rights include among others, the right to life, right to education, freedom of speech, assembly and movement, as well as the right to raise a family. Children are, in addition to the universal human rights, guaranteed specific rights to : life, survival, a name, growth and development, non-discrimination, best interest of the child, and respect for the views of the child (Charisi, Chaudron, Di Gioia, Vuorikari, Escobar-Planas, Sanchez & Gomez, 2022). Children have the rights to family life, private life, dignity, recreation, cultural activities, health services, and education. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) classified the rights of the child into four groups of rights namely : right to survival, development, protection, and participation. The focus in this paper is the right to child protection.

2Globally, child rights are mainly enshrined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), which has 196 member states as parties to the treaty. The convention, which was adopted on November 20, 1989, emanates from the pre-Internet era. In Nigeria, the Child Rights Act (2003) is the law that guarantees the rights of all children. So far, 24 out of the 36 states in Nigeria have adopted the Child Rights Act (CRA) as state law. There are therefore 12 states in Nigeria that are yet to domesticate the child rights laws (Chaman Law Firm, 2022). The question of how to protect children’s rights online has been the subject of discussions for a long time (Hasse, Alexa, Cortesi, Lombana-Bermudez & Gasser, 2019)

3On March 2, 2021, the Committee on the Rights of the Child released the General Comment No. 25 (2021) on children’s rights in relation to the digital environment to inform states on how to uphold the human rights of children in the present digital environment (Djeffal, 2022). This comment considers children’s possible interactions within digital networks, content, services and applications, connected devices and environments, virtual and augmented reality, artificial intelligence, robotics, automated systems, algorithms and data analytics, biometrics and implant technology. Also, governments are expected to take appropriate actions in order to mitigate the possible risks and ensure that the new opportunities for the realisation of children’s rights are accessible to all children in the digital world (Charisi et al., 2022). The Comment elaborates on the four basic principles of the rights of the child as mentioned earlier.

4One emerging technology into our digital environment is Artificial Intelligence. Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems, although little perceived as part of our daily lives, are becoming ubiquitous for all, including children (Henriques & Hartung, 2019). Artificial Intelligence-based technologies have become increasingly integrated into modern life, and the potential impact of artificial intelligence on children’s human rights deserves special attention, given children’s heightened vulnerabilities and the numerous roles that artificial intelligence plays throughout the lifespan of individuals who are born in the 21st Century (UNICEF, 2018).

5Children are inevitably being affected by these changes and are increasingly included among users of AI systems, directly or indirectly (Henriques & Hartung, 2019). Children are also citizens who enjoy urban centres, medical services, formal education, and various forms of entertainment available to them. In addition to being able to interact with household items that use AI technologies, automated decision-making systems are already embedded in products and services directed at children, such as video games, virtual personal assistants, and toys, such as the Hello Barbie doll (Henriques & Hartung, 2019). Algorithms provide recommendations to children about which movies to watch, which songs to listen to, what news to read, what answers to reach with a search engine, and who their friends might be (Henriques & Hartung, 2019. The rise of AI is a globally prevalent phenomenon associated with what many have called the 4th Industrial Revolution (Klaus, 2017).

6The capacity of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to have long-lasting consequences on children’s growth and future is real, yet little protection is there to safeguard them from these drawbacks (Cariou, 2021). AI displays human-like capabilities such as reasoning, learning, planning, and creativity leading to immense worldwide curiosity of its potential extensive powers (Cariou, 2021). It is undeniable that it will be intrinsic to the lives of future generations of humans. Today, more than ever, AI has permeated daily life, influencing our social, emotional, and physical well-being. Artificial Intelligence is embedded in children’s toys, video games, and adaptive learning systems and can determine a growing number of influential decisions which could impact their lives and developments: from suggesting who to speak with, and what to read, to critical decisions on potentially life-changing matters of health, education, and welfare. Whether it is through AI-powered algorithms on social media platforms influencing what we view, AI digital assistants, such as Alexa shape the way we speak, AI Smart cities mould the way we travel. These impacts on human lives are undeniable.

7Artificial Intelligence is being used in multiple places such as Siri, Google’s AlphaGo, in Chess playing, etc. AI machine-learning toys, for example, use natural language processing to aid the understanding of words and instructions. In effect, AI collects copious data from children, including intimate conversations, which are then stored in the cloud (Cariou, 2021). The findings from the studies conducted on these AI technologies show that they are relevant to children’s rights. These three AI techs are in current use by children, and there is current empirical evidence of their impact on child development considering their diverse technical features. As Cariou (2021) notes, while AI has been shown to influence all humans, it has specific impacts on those who are currently “developing” – children and young people. 

8Some of the AI-based applications that have already been applied in contexts related to children are recommender systems, conversational agents, and social robots. While conversational agents rely mainly on language-based communication, recommender systems might take text-based forms, and social robots, on their part, make use of the physical components of the system for communication based on multiple modalities (Henriques & Hartung, 2019). Research in the three cases highlights certain directions that are common, such as the development of systems that adapt to children’s individual characteristics and needs (Henriques & Hartung, 2019). Regarding the emerging opportunities, evidence in all the three use-cases indicates that with an appropriate approach in the design, development and deployment of those technologies, their use could create opportunities for the expansion and the support of children’s development in various ways, with a special focus on personalised learning (Charisi, et al., 2022). However, research also indicates that the use of these applications is correlated with risks that need to be addressed, such as children’s privacy, possible algorithmic discrimination, and lack of fairness, which is often connected to the lack of transparency and equity in accessibility (Eban, 2018). Experts have also raised concerns regarding the risk that AI could have on the overall future challenges and development of children, fearing that if misused, AI could encourage bad habits including tech addiction. There are also differing opinions on whether AI could truly mould and shape the worldview of children through videos and content that it recommends to them and the implications if this happens (Charisi, et al., 2022).

9It is on the basis of this background that this article examines how AI, with its mixed realities, could be used to protect the rights of children.

Conceptual Clarifications of Terms

10Artificial Intelligence : the terms artificial intelligence, machine learning, and deep learning have been used somewhat interchangeably by the public to reflect the concept of replicating “intelligent” behaviour in machines (UNICEF, 2018). Artificial intelligence and machine learning are the parts of computer science that are correlated. While most people tend to use the terms artificial intelligence and machine learning as synonyms, the fact is that both are different terms in various cases (UNICEF, 2018) although machine learning is actually a part of artificial intelligence. It can be said that artificial intelligence is a vast area where machine learning constitutes of a small part (Pati, 2021).

11Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning are the two most trending technologies which are used for creating intelligent systems. Artificial intelligence is a field of computer science which makes a computer system mimic human intelligence. It comprises two words "Artificial" and "intelligence," which means, "a human-made thinking power." (Pati, 2021). Artificial intelligence creates intelligent systems that simulate human intelligence. It is the field of developing computers and robots that are capable of behaving in ways that may go beyond human capabilities (Anon, 2021). AI-enabled programs analyse and contextualise data to provide information or automatically trigger actions without human interference (Anon, 2021). Today, artificial intelligence is central to many technologies we use, including smart devices and voice assistants such as Siri on Apple devices. Companies are incorporating techniques such as natural language processing and computer vision – the ability of computers to use human language and interpret images – to automate tasks, accelerate decision-making, and enable customer conversations with chatbots.

12Artificial intelligence systems do not require to be pre-programmed, instead, they use such algorithms which can work with their own intelligence. It involves machine learning algorithms such as Reinforcement learning algorithms and deep learning neural networks. Based on capabilities, AI is classified into three types : Weak AI ; General AI, and Strong AI. Currently, we are working with weak AI and general AI. The future of AI is Strong AI for which it is said that it will be more intelligent than humans (Pati, 2021).

13Machine learning : this enables a computer system to make predictions or make decisions using historical data without being explicitly programmed. Machine learning uses a massive amount of structured and semi-structured data so that a machine learning model can generate accurate results or give predictions based on those data. Machine learning works on an algorithm that learns on its own using historical data. It works only for specific domains such as if we are creating a machine learning model to detect pictures of dogs, it will only give results for dog images, but if we provide new data like cat images, then it will become unresponsive (Pati, 2021). Machine learning is being used in various places such as for online recommender systems, Google search algorithms, Email spam filters, Facebook Auto friend tagging suggestions, etc. ML can go beyond human intelligence. A manufacturing plant might collect data from machines and sensors on its network in quantities far beyond what any human is capable of processing

14In ML, we teach machines with data to perform a particular task and give an accurate result. Machine learning and deep learning are the two main subsets of AI. Deep learning is the main subset of machine learning. AI has a wide range of scope. Machine learning has a limited scope. AI is working to create an intelligent system that can perform various complex tasks. Machine learning is working to create machines that can perform only those specific tasks for which they are trained. AI systems are concerned with maximising the chances of success. Machine learning is mainly concerned with accuracy and patterns. The main applications of AI are Siri, customer support using chatbots, expert systems, online game playing, intelligent humanoid robots, etc. The main applications of machine learning are the online recommender system, Google search algorithms, Facebook auto friend tagging suggestions, etc.

15For purposes of this article, artificial intelligence is used by UNICEF (2018) to mean a sub-field of computer science focused on building machines and software that mimic such behaviour. Deep learning is a subcategory of machine learning that uses neural networks to learn to represent and extrapolate from a data-set (UNICEF, 2018). Here, focus is on the ways that AI impacts children’s lives and human rights.

16Child Protection/Child Rights : Child protection means keeping children safe from violence in all ramifications. Also included are their rights to good health, nutrition, education, safety among others. It is enshrined in the Child Right Acts of 2003, hence the need to conceptualise it for better understanding.

17A child is defined by Child Rights Act (2003) as any person under the age of 18. According to UNICEF (2018), the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) is the most comprehensive legal framework that protects children. The CRC aims to ensure that children are treated based on equity and not equality by the states. More than a binding international document, the Convention is an ethical and legal framework for assessing states’ progress or regress on issues of particular interest to children.

18As a result of the exponential advancement of artificial intelligence-based technologies over the past few years, the current international framework that protects children’s rights, such as rights to privacy, to education, to play, and to non-discrimination, does not explicitly address many of the issues raised by the development and use of artificial intelligence. However, it does identify several rights and thus provides an important starting point for any analysis of how children’s rights may be positively or negatively affected by new technologies.

19The Children’s Rights Act of 2003 extends the human rights bestowed on citizens in Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution to children (Chaman Law Firm, 2022). This law was passed at the Federal level, and it is only effective if State Assemblies also codify the law. The bill was first introduced in 2002, but did not succeed because of the opposition from the Supreme Council for Sharia (Chaman Law Firm, 2022). CRA was officially became law in 2003 signed by former President of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, as the Child Rights Act 2003, in large part because of the media pressure that national stakeholders and international organisations put on the National Assembly (Chaman Law Firm, 2022).

20According to Chaman Law Firm (2022), the Child Rights Act mandates that where a child is concerned, their best interest is to take precedence. It states further that the parent or legal guardian is obligated to fulfill the duty to give the child basic protection. It specifies that Article IV of Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution and any other federal law which details fundamental rights should be seen as being part of the Act.

21The Child Rights Act discusses the ways in which a child shall be protected. These include protection from child marriage as well as the punishments for the adult parties involved. Other protections include : not being harmed (including being marked with tattoos) or from sexual violence, being shielded from exploitative labour, or being enlisted in any military operation. It also lists the reasons a child assessment order may be sought as well as the reasons for and duration in which emergency protection orders shall be given to a child. The Act also clarifies the obligations of a state government when it is disclosed that a child is being harmed. It indicates the circumstances in which children shall be brought to court in order to determine if they need protection. This part also stipulates the type of person who shall be allowed to make such a decision.

Objectives

22The aims of this article are to :

  1. discuss how the media can create awareness in the use of AI for child protection ;

  2. explore how parents and children can contribute to child protection in the AI era ;

  3. ascertain the role of AI in protecting the child ; and,

  4. explain the challenges of AI in child protection.

Methodology

23The article employed the literature review approach. It explored evidence-based studies, through a critical review method, to identify key advantages in the use of Artificial Intelligence for protection of child rights and the risks that must be avoided to prevent the violation of the rights of children. The approach helped us to critique the extant literature on Artificial Intelligence and the protection of child rights. This provided the platform for updating the current literature on AI and child rights protection.

Review of Related Empirical Literature

24The study by Jammy, Seigha and Gunah (2021) entitled : “Mainstream Media and AI among residents of Asaba, Delta State, Nigeria” determined the level of awareness about AI by residents of Asaba. The population of the study was 73,374 while the Fisher & Lee sampling technique was used to determine the sample size of 384. The results revealed that the awareness level of the respondents about AI was low. The study was anchored on the Diffusion of Innovation theory and used the questionnaire and oral interview to elicit data from respondents. The authors recommended that every available channel, such as opinion leaders, in addition to the mainstream media should be used to create awareness about AI. This study is related to the current study because it focused on awareness of AI generally but did not address how the mainstream media can create awareness concerning the use of AI in protecting the child.

25In another study, Barnes & Potter (2020) investigated : “Sharenting and parents” digital literacy : an agenda for future research.” It argued that the responsibility for protecting children in the digital environment is that of parents. However, the study revealed that most parents who are supposed to monitor their children online expose their privacy ignorantly through sharenting. That is, sharing sensitive parenthood information about children by parents. The study is related to the current work in the sense that it discussed one of the things that should be avoided in child protection : sharenting. It did not provide enough information on ways that children can be protected online.

26Similarly, Struensee (2021) investigated Artificial Intelligence and children’s rights in relation to artificial intelligence education, surveillance, and harmful content. The study used the discursive method to examine AI and children’s rights laws and ethics in the context of social media platforms such as YouTube ; smart toys ; and three AI education and EdTech applications. It argues that corporations and governments around the world have adopted strategies for becoming leaders in the development and use of Artificial Intelligence, fostering environments congenial to AI innovators. However, in most cases, neither corporations nor policymakers have sufficiently addressed how the rights of children fit into their AI strategies or products. Struensee (2021) states that the role of artificial intelligence in children’s lives – from how children play, to how they are educated, and to how they consume information and learn about the world is expected to increase exponentially over the coming years. It finds that though AI has valuable benefits for children, it presents some challenges around important issues including child safety, privacy, data privacy, device security, surveillance, and consent. The study recommends that it is imperative that stakeholders evaluate the risks and assess opportunities to use artificial intelligence to maximise children’s well-being in a thoughtful and systematic manner.

27The study is related to the present study in the sense that its objective of finding out how AI technologies could be used to protect the rights of children is similar. The study concluded with some recommendations for corporations, parents, governments, and educators on responsible AI development for children. However, the present study is still relevant because the older study focused more on ethical issues in the process of manufacturing AI Technologies and setting agenda for research and policy. Thus, it did not provide enough information on using AI to promote the rights of children.

28However, Atul (2022) examined Artificial intelligence and child rights. The author stated that AI was a field of science with many approaches, advances in machine learning, deep learning and promoted a paradigm shift in nearly every field of the tech industry. AI is used in cities for public safety and traffic organisation purposes ; in hospitals, through applications in devices that assist doctors in detecting diseases ; in education with the use of algorithms that create possibilities for customised learning or facial recognition technologies ; and entertainment (Atul, 2022). The study argued that AI will play roles throughout the lifespan of individuals who are born in the 21st Century ; and will have an effect on nearly every aspect of life, and that in many ways ; the impacts will be greater for children – from how they are conceived and born to the resources and learning methods available to them, as well as the occupations they will undertake. The study, while related to the present study in purpose, was not clear about the methodology that informed its findings.

29Significantly, Djeffal (2022) explored children’s rights by design and Internet governance with reference to the General Comment No. 25 (2021) on Children’s Rights in relation to the digital environment. The study reviewed how children’s rights are considered a driver of Internet governance. Djeffal (2022) stated that General Comment No. 25 translates the rights derived from the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child from the pre-digital era to the application of children’s rights to current issues of digitisation. The study is related to the present study because both worked on child rights protection though it was not an empirical work.

30Importantly, Charisi, et-al (2022) examined, “Artificial Intelligence and the Rights of the Child towards an Integrated Agenda for Research and Policy.” In it, Artificial Intelligence offered children many opportunities, but it also raised the risk of compromising their rights. It was a report. It did not employ a specified method to provide empirical evidence for the results and recommendations. The document reported an increasing number of policy initiatives and corresponding research that sought a better understanding and provision of solutions to mitigate the risks and augment the benefits of AI-based technologies for children. There was often a lack of interaction among stakeholders. The study recommended an integrated agenda and future directions in research and policy, but was silent on how AI may be used to protect child rights. The study highlighted the benefits in the application of AI generally but did not address the use of AI for child protection.

Theoretical Framework

31The study is hinged on the Agenda Setting Theory and Media and Precaution Adoption Model. The Agenda Setting theory was initiated by McCombs and Shaw in 1972 but Lippmann (1922) indicated how the mass media can set a particular agenda which can influence the opinions of the public. The Agenda-setting theory states that the menu of news and other information made available to the public by media decision-makers ultimately defines what is considered significant. This means that what the media emphasise is considered as important by the media audiences. If a newspaper for example, publishes a large story headline on the front page, then that story is considered to be the most important piece of news for that particular day. If a newspaper publishes a small story inside the paper, it indicates that the newspaper does not attach much importance to the issue. (Parveen, 2017). The Agenda Setting Theory underscores the perceived power of the mass media, considered to be the primary tool to shape public opinion on any issue.

32The Agenda Setting theory is related to this study in two ways : first, the emphasis the media accord child rights reportage tells the public that the protection of the rights of children is important. Second, the coverage and emphasis the mass media place on Artificial Intelligence and the Rights of children would make the public not only to understand more about the relationship between the two but also to take precautions to reduce the dangers of AI to children and utilise its advantages to promote child rights.

33The study also adopted the Precaution Adoption Process Model (PAPM) to help further explain how AI could be used to enhance child rights protection. The PAPM was introduced by Neil and Sandman in 1992. However, the concepts of the model were first discussed in 1988, with a formal accepted formulation of the model in 1992. PAPM is a psychologically focused model that is most useful in describing how a person comes to a new decision, and how that person can take the decision and make it become an action. The model explains how people actually decide whether or not to protect themselves from risks (Neil, Sandman & Blalock, 2020).

34Neil, Sandman and Blalock (2020) explain that there are seven stages of the PAPM. These stages start with a person being entirely unaware of some issue (stage 1). If at some point the person becomes aware of the issue, but still does not entertain the idea as an issue, then stage 2 comes. Once the person has gained awareness of the issue and entered decision-making, the person is in stage 3. From stage 3, the person can end in one of two ways : they decide not to take action on the issue ; the person ends the PAPM and ends at stage 4, unless there is another entry of the decision-making process. If after the decision-making process the person decides to accept the fact that there is an issue, then that person enters stage 5. After acceptance of the issue, the person begins a new behaviour in stage 6. Once the person has accepted the behaviour and continued to maintain that behaviour over time, a maintenance stage 7 is achieved (Neil, Sandmanand & Blalock, 2020).

35PAPM helps to explain this study for better understanding because the mass media work to influence people, including children, through information, discussions, drama, etc. to adopt good behaviours. The media could, through some of their programmes, educate parents on the processes of protecting the rights of children. The model provides a framework that could be adopted by both parents and children to achieve behaviour change to avoid the use of artificial intelligence technologies that the manufacturers did not consider or watch unethical videos that AI technology products could direct them to.

Artificial Intelligence and Child Rights Protection

36In buttressing the empirical literature reviewed, Burle and Cortiz (2020) hold that AI must be grounded in human-friendly design. Also, Henriques and Hartung (2019) argue that the design, development, and provision of AI that can directly or indirectly affect children should always put the rights and best interests of children first.

37Children, as recognised by the CRC and other national legal norms, experience a unique stage of physical, psychological and social development, with evolving capacities and, therefore, must be specially protected, ensuring their rights are guaranteed as priority, no matter the circumstances, whether by family, states, society, or companies (Henriques & Hartung, 2020). AI Systems have to promote children’s rights and support their development worldwide. However, given the fact that more and more decisions are being delegated to intelligent systems, it is essential to maintain a critical perspective, that, in addition to the positive aspects provided by AI, the inherent risks involved are properly vetted (Henriques & Hartung, 2019).

38Artificial Intelligence (AI) facilitates child protection by processing huge amounts of information at a great speed, thereby making decisions in a short period of time to facilitate child rights issues online (ECPA International). Also, by using AI, law enforcement agents and Technology companies can detect child sexual materials in higher volumes (CSAM). Furthermore, AI and machine learning can detect when a child might be at the risk of exploitation (ECPA, International). AI can also support law enforcement agents in investigating, preventing, and facilitating the prosecution of all forms of sexual exploitation. This was revealed by AI for Safer Children initiative launched in 2020 by the United Nations Inter-Regional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI).

39Gallagher (2020) states that scientists have developed AI to detect sexual harassment in e-mails by monitoring internal conversations, emails, and chats. He adds that robots known as #Me Too bots are being developed by programmers to tackle sexual harassment and bullying in the workplace. The programme is named after the #MeToo movement, an international campaign against sexual harassment of women.

40In view of the cross-border multiplication of AI systems, including those that impact on children, new global initiatives such as that of UNICEF, guided by ethics and centred on the human, are of paramount importance (Andriei, 2019). Undoubtedly, AI systems that impact children, directly or indirectly, must also be, as any AI systems, principally, human-centred, as championed by the European Commission. The Commission promotes “reliable AI systems that are human-centric, resting on a commitment to their use in the service of humanity and the common good, with the goal of improving human welfare and freedom.” (The European Commission, 2020, p. 4). Hence, finding a balance that guarantees the best interest of children and their specific rights, in all applications that are not prohibited and can be used by them or impact them, even indirectly has become necessary. It is not only in those AI applications specifically aimed at the use and consumption of children but also as a precaution against potential risks to which they may be subjected to (Henriques & Hartung, 2021).

41The tremendous spread of AI globally has led some scholars to describe it as the 4th Industrial Revolution. Unfortunately, Nigeria is still moving at a slow pace. This explains why this article is apt because in the near future, we can no longer show apathy towards AI.

42However, AI has its challenges in the area of child protection. Some of the challenges include low reportage of the child and youth issues in the media, sharenting by parents : exposing children’s privacy online right from conception in tandem with the digital media and pop culture. Also, numerous children expose themselves online and not knowing how to protect their rights. Other challenges include ignorance among security operatives in the use of AI applications online and the designs of non human-centric AI applications by the technology industry.

Conclusion

43Artificial Intelligence is critical in shaping the future of children and protecting their fundamental human rights. Although the use of AI to protect children poses some risks to child development and could be an avenue for some adults to violate child rights, studies show that AI applications among children are fundamental to the future development of the child and have advantages that if well guided, lead to better ways of protecting child rights in a global environment.

44Artificial Intelligence could be better than human intelligence in protecting children because it processes enormous data online at a very high speed which may lead to informed decisions by the security operatives. It also detects and prevents sexual harassment.

Recommendations

  1. The mainstream media should create more awareness about the use of AI for child protection.

  2. Parents should monitor the type of information their children are exposed to through the AI technologies they use and advise them against accessing videos and other content that could make them develop negatively. Both parents and children themselves should also contribute to child protection in the AI era by not exposing their identities and privacy online.

  3. Security operatives should undergo series of trainings regularly on the use of AI applications for child protection.

  4. Technology Industries should design AI-friendly applications that are human-centric in online child protection.

  5. The Nigerian government should ensure proper implementation of child rights which are already enshrined in the Constitution. Also, the remaining 12 states out of 36 states should domesticate the Child Rights Act (CRA) as a state law.

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Ifeyinwa Nsude, « Enhancing child rights protection in Nigeria through artificial intelligence (AI) »Communication, technologies et développement [En ligne], 15 | 2024, mis en ligne le 29 juin 2024, consulté le 21 mai 2026. URL : http://journals.openedition.org/ctd/11813 ; DOI : https://doi.org/10.4000/123j3

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Ifeyinwa Nsude

Department of mass communication
Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki, Nigeria
Email : ifeyinwansude[at]gmail.com, ifeyinwa.nsude[at]ebsu.edu.ng

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