Safeguarding Tomorrow's Data Landscape

Young Digital Citizens' Perspectives on Privacy within AI Systems

This project seeks to comprehensively explore privacy within AI systems, with a particular focus on the perspectives of young digital citizens aged 16-19.

This project is proudly funded by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada's (OPC) Contributions Program .

More info

About

The overarching goal of the project is to gain a deep understanding of Young Digital Citizens' Perspectives on privacy within AI systems and based on this understanding, contribute to the development of guidelines that foster responsible and privacy-centric practices in AI applications.

Research Questions

  • Young users' perceptions of privacy in AI systems
  • Concerns and expectations of young users about data sharing, transparency, and control in AI applications
Project

Project

Our research project is now complete. We successfully gathered and analyzed data from youths, educators, parents, AI developers, and researchers. The key findings offer valuable insights into the development of privacy-aware AI systems and contribute to shaping responsible AI practices.

Surveys (Closed)

The survey phase and data analysis are now complete. Thank you to everyone who participated and contributed their valuable input! While the surveys are now closed, you can still explore the survey links below for reference.



Interviews (Completed)

We conducted in-depth interviews to gather individual perspectives from educators, parents, AI developers, and researchers. Connect with us if you're interested in learning more about the findings or contributing to future research initiatives.

Focus Group Studies (Completed)

We facilitated peer discussions through focus groups with educators, parents, AI developers, and researchers. If you're interested in learning more about the outcomes, follow our updates or connect with us.

Recent & Upcoming

Meetup: Vancouver Digital Networking Evening (Completed)
đź“… February 25, 2025
⏰ 6:00 PM sharp
đź“Ť The Blind Rabbit, Vancouver

Webinar: Privacy Laws & AI: Navigating Emerging Challenges (Completed)
đź“… March 7, 2025
⏰ 12:30 PM - 2:00 PM PST
đź”— Event Page
đź“„ Download Webinar Report

Seminar: AI Ethics and Privacy (Completed)
đź“… Thursday, March 13, 2025
⏰ 11:30 AM - 2:15 PM PST
đź“Ť Madrona Room, VIU Library
đź”— Event Page
đź“„ Download Seminar Report

Project Funded by OPC
Category
Project Funded by OPC
Privacy Aware AI
Category
Invited Speaker at ICBTA 2024
VIU Research Feature
Category
VIU Research Feature
Media News Coverage
Category
Media Coverage
Project Insights via Medium
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Project Insights via Medium
Medium Post on Participant Recruitment
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Medium Post on Participant Recruitment
Privacy Aware AI
Category
Celebrating Excellence at UC Berkeley IEEE Conference
Privacy Aware AI
Category
Celebrating Excellence at IEEE CCWC 2025 at UNLV
Privacy Aware AI
Category
IEEE ICAIC 2025 at the University of Houston
Privacy Aware AI
Category
Engagement Event: Vancouver Digital Networking Meetup
Medium Post on Engagement
Category
Raising Awareness on Youth Privacy in AI
Media News Coverage
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Media Coverage

Team

Prof. Ajay Shrestha

Principal Investigator

Vancouver Island University

Ankur Barthwal

Research Assistant

Vancouver Island University

Molly Campbell

Research Assistant

Vancouver Island University

Austin Shouli

Research Assistant

Vancouver Island University

Saad Syed

Volunteer

Publication

Here are some of our latest publications from this project. Click on the links to read more.

Final Report: Safeguarding Tomorrow's Data Landscape

Privacy-Aware AI Research

Published: March 2025

This final report provides a comprehensive overview of the project, covering its scope, objectives, data collection and analysis, key findings, policy recommendations, research dissemination, public engagement, and future directions.

đź“Ą Download Report

Safeguarding Tomorrow's Data Landscape with AI for Youth: A Practical Handbook

Privacy-Aware AI Research Led by Dr. Ajay Shrestha

Published: Feb 24, 2025 (V1)

This practical handbook offers actionable guidelines, best practices, and tools for ensuring privacy in AI applications, particularly for young digital citizens. It serves as a resource for educators, parents, youths, AI developers, and policymakers to navigate ethical AI practices.

đź“„ Download Handbook

Navigating AI to Unpack Youth Privacy Concerns: An In-Depth Exploration and Systematic Review

Authors - Ajay Shrestha, Ankur Barthwal, Molly Campbell, Austin Shouli, Saad Syed, Sandhya Joshi, Julita Vassileva

Published on: IEEE ("In Press") – (Available soon)

Read Preprint

Toward Ethical AI: A Qualitative Analysis of Stakeholder Perspectives

Authors - Ajay Shrestha, Sandhya Joshi

Published on: IEEE 10.1109/CCWC62904.2025.10903879

Read Preprint

Investigation of the Privacy Concerns in AI Systems for Young Digital Citizens: A Comparative Stakeholder Analysis

Authors - Molly Campbell, Ankur Barthwal, Austin Shouli, Sandhya Joshi, Ajay Shrestha

Published on: IEEE 10.1109/CCWC62904.2025.10903925

Read Preprint

Applying Communication Privacy Management Theory to Youth Privacy Management in AI Contexts

Authors - Molly Campbell, Sandhya Joshi, Ankur Barthwal, Austin Shouli, Ajay Shrestha

Published on: IEEE 10.1109/ICAIC63015.2025.10848639

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Ethical AI for Young Digital Citizens: A Call to Action on Privacy Governance

Authors - Austin Shouli, Ankur Barthwal, Molly Campbell, Ajay Shrestha

Published on: Wiley Journal ("In Review") – (Available soon)

Read Preprint

Privacy Ethics Alignment in AI (PEA-AI): A Stakeholder-Centric Based Framework for Ethical AI

Authors - Ankur Barthwal, Molly Campbell, Ajay Shrestha

Published on: Wiley Jounal ("In Review") – (Available soon)

Read Preprint

Young Digital Citizens and Privacy in AI Systems: A Systematic Review of Perceptions, Concerns, and Expectations

Authors - Ankur Barthwal, Molly Campbell, Austin Shouli, Saad Syed, Sandhya Joshi, Ajay Shrestha

Published on: Frontiers in CS ("In Review") – (Available soon)

Read More

Unpacking Youth Privacy Management in AI Systems: A Privacy Calculus Model Analysis

Authors - Austin Shouli, Ankur Barthwal, Molly Campbell, Ajay Shrestha

Published on: IEEE Access ("In Review") – (Available soon)

Read More