Growing Up with AI
Date & time
27 October 2026 | 18.00-20.00
Event format
Hybrid both in person and online
Event type
Participatory interactive event
Event topic
Technology and us
Audience
Young People, Adults
Academic discipline
Psychology
Venue
University of Strathclyde
Room TL324, Learning & Teaching Building
49 Richmond Street,
Glasgow
G1 1XU
Enter the building from Richmond Street for step-free access to the event. A gentle ramp takes you to the lifts opposite the main entrance. Take the lift to level 3; turn left through the door and left again through the double doors. The room is then on your right.
Paid parking is available on North Portland Street (free from 6pm) and also in the NCP…
What's on offer?
A two-hour interactive workshop for parents, guardians and educators. We will start with a short introduction on what we currently know about children's AI use, then move into three group activities: a quick warm-up sharing your first thoughts on cue cards; the main session rating real-life scenarios of children using AI and discussing them at your table; and a closing activity ranking the factors that matter most, building a set of practical ground rules. We will finish with a whole-room discussion. Join us in person or online via Microsoft Teams.
What's it about?
Nearly two-thirds of UK children aged 9 to 17 have used an AI chatbot. Just over a third say talking to one feels like talking to a friend. One in eight say they use it because they have no one else to talk to.
For most parents and teachers, this has happened quickly and quietly at bedtime, in bedrooms, without adults in the room. AI is no longer just a homework shortcut.
This workshop is not about deciding whether AI is good or bad for children. It is about working out where the line sits between AI supporting a child and AI replacing something they need to do for themselves: thinking a problem through, sitting with difficulty, talking to a real person.
We will look at real situations the twelve-year-old who takes friendship worries to a chatbot instead of her mum, the fifteen-year-old whose teacher says he can no longer cope with uncertainty. You will discuss what concerns you, what you have noticed, and what rules you would actually want in place.
No prior knowledge of AI is needed and there are no right answers. Your discussions will feed directly into research at the University of Strathclyde on how AI is shaping children's thinking and emotional development.
Who's leading the event?
Priya Parmar, NeuraSearch Lab, Computer & Information Sciences, University of Strathclyde. A clinical psychologist researching the psychological and emotional effects of AI
Claire Rogers, NeuraSearch Lab, Computer & Information Sciences, University of Strathclyde
Phakinai Sujarirat, NeuraSearch Lab, Computer & Information Sciences, University of Strathclyde
Professor Yashar Moshfeghi, Director of the NeuraSearch Laboratory, University of Strathclyde
Open to
Open to all adults. Our main audience is parents and guardians of children and young people aged roughly 8 to 18, along with teachers, school staff and anyone working professionally with children.
No prior knowledge of AI is needed and everyone is welcome, whether you are curious, concerned or somewhere in between. This is an adults-only session; no children under 16 will be attending or participating.
Of particular interest to
Parents and teachers of children who already use AI regularly for homework, advice, or for conversation and company.
Event booking deadline
Thursday 22nd October 2026
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