About The Workshop

Join us for a full-day workshop examining how AI shapes intergenerational family dynamics from child development to eldercare and how to design equitable, family-centered AI futures.

Workshop Proposal PDF Submit Your Paper

As AI tools become more accessible, their presence within family contexts is increasing, transforming from passive tools into active actors that shape how families communicate, learn, and care for one another. However, current AI systems are rarely designed for the family as an interconnected unit, overlooking opportunities for shared use while introducing new tensions around privacy, labor, and autonomy.

This workshop brings together researchers across AI in education, child-computer interaction, social computing, and family studies to examine these dynamics. By grounding our approach in established frameworks like Family Systems Theory and Value Sensitive Design, participants will deconstruct normative assumptions about the household and work toward defining what "family-centered AI" truly means.

Through structured group activities, we will co-construct a research and design agenda to build an interdisciplinary, collaborative community dedicated to designing an equitable, value-sensitive future for families navigating life alongside AI.

Workshop Themes

This workshop bridges sociotechnical and HCI frameworks with participatory design methods to co-construct the future for family-centered AI through three themes:

Theme 1: Defining Family-Centered AI

Grounding AI in family-centered theories — deconstructing normative household assumptions and translating frameworks like Family Systems Theory into actionable, value-sensitive design practices.

How should we define "family" in the context of AI, and whose voices are excluded?
Which sociotechnical theories best capture AI's introduction into family spaces?
How can theories become actionable, value-sensitive practices?

Theme 2: Intergenerational Dynamics

Examining how AI reshapes relationships across the lifespan — from children forming mental models of conversational agents, to AI-mediated eldercare, to caregivers navigating institutional conflicts.

How does AI reshape childhood development and aging-in-place?
How do families navigate conflicting AI policies between home and institutions?
How does AI shape or disrupt traditional family roles?

Theme 3: Futures for Family-Centered AI

Co-constructing equitable futures — scaffolding intergenerational connection, negotiating labor in family-AI systems, and building continuous governance mechanisms.