"AI is a robot that knows many things": Cypriot children’s perception of AI Maria Kasinidou Open University of Cyprus Nicosia, Cyprus maria.kasinidou@ouc.ac.cy Styliani Kleanthous CYENS Centre of Excellence & Open University of Cyprus Nicosia, Cyprus s.kleanthous@cyens.org.cy Jahna Otterbacher Open University of Cyprus & CYENS Centre of Excellence Nicosia, Cyprus jahna.otterbacher@ouc.ac.cy ABSTRACT In today’s world, children are increasingly interacting with AI tech- nologies as part of their daily routines. However, many children may not fully grasp how these technologies function or their impli- cations. Misconceptions about AI capabilities, risks, and benefits abound, underlining the importance of early education on the sub- ject. Designing educational tools and materials tailored for children necessitates a deep understanding of their existing knowledge and perceptions of AI. By leveraging children’s insights and experiences with AI, we can develop effective educational strategies that cater to their specific needs and enhance their understanding of this rapidly evolving technology. CCS CONCEPTS • Social and professional topics → Computing education. KEYWORDS AI literacy, AI education, Perception of AI, children ACM Reference Format: Maria Kasinidou, Styliani Kleanthous, and Jahna Otterbacher. 2024. "AI is a robot that knows many things": Cypriot children’s perception of AI. In Interaction Design and Children (IDC ’24), June 17–20, 2024, Delft, Netherlands. ACM, New York, NY, USA, 5 pages. https://doi.org/10.1145/3628516.3659414 1 INTRODUCTION Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become an integral part of everyday life for people worldwide, including young children. Children en- gage with AI through applications like voice assistants such as "Siri" or "Alexa," aiding in tasks like making phone calls. They also utilize search engines that rapidly provide information, and platforms like Netflix or YouTube, which personalize suggestions based on their preferences. Despite this widespread integration, many children may not be fully aware of AI’s presence in these applications or the associated ethical considerations [22]. Given this, along with the in- creasing time children spend interacting with AI, researchers have started exploring children’s experiences with AI systems [11, 35] and their perceptions of AI [10, 25]. Permission to make digital or hard copies of part or all of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for third-party components of this work must be honored. For all other uses, contact the owner/author(s). IDC ’24, June 17–20, 2024, Delft, Netherlands © 2024 Copyright held by the owner/author(s). ACM ISBN 979-8-4007-0442-0/24/06 https://doi.org/10.1145/3628516.3659414 It is well established that education in AI, digital literacy and socio-economic background can influence individuals’ perceptions of AI. Studies showed that educational interventions not only im- prove people’s comprehension of AI [21] but can also affect their acceptance and use of AI [32]. A recent study with university stu- dents showed a correlation between their digital skills and their effort to use AI [37]. Similarly, a study with educators highlighted the relationship between digital skills, awareness of AI and inten- tion to use AI [13]. Additionally, a study with children indicated that it is more difficult to use AI for children coming from lower socio-economic backgrounds [10]. Cyprus, as a small EU member state with a high standard of living, and one of the highest rates of tertiary educational attainment in the EU 1 , has a unique profile. Recent OECD data revealed a decline in Cypriot students’ performance in maths, reading, and science, as indicated by the latest PISA results [27]. Additionally, evidence suggests that citizens in Cyprus have some of the most negative attitudes in the EU regarding the integration of automation and AI into daily life, possibly due to less exposure to AI and robots at home or work [7]. To design the proper educational materials and tools, it is essential to first explore children’s level of digital skills and their perception and understanding of AI [16]. Given the unique profile of our country, it becomes imperative to investigate the perception of AI of children in Cyprus, as this aspect has not been explored to date. In this paper, we present preliminary results from our survey with children in primary schools in Cyprus, which explores their level of digital skills and perceptions of AI. 2 BACKGROUND The rapid advancements in AI have sparked widespread discussions regarding the importance of incorporating AI education across dif- ferent groups of society. Research has underscored the necessity for the development of specialized AI courses tailored to the needs of diverse groups [14]. To gain insights into the educational needs and perceptions of AI among different audiences, numerous studies have explored how various groups perceive AI. These investiga- tions have unveiled a spectrum of preconceptions, misconceptions, and myths surrounding AI [5]. Surveys conducted with the general public have revealed exaggerated expectations regarding the tech- nology’s capabilities [15], alongside the prevalent misconception of AI possessing human-like abilities [18, 33]. Additionally, a study involving 4,006 European citizens highlighted an overall positive attitude towards AI, despite a recognized low self-assessment of AI competency [30]. Focusing on the UK population, Cave et al. [6] 1 https://op.europa.eu/webpub/eac/education-and-training-monitor-2023/en/ country-reports/cyprus.html