AI Is Already Shaping Childhood, And Most Adults Don't Know It

New Delhi. February 18, 2026: At the AI Summit dominated by talk of capability and scale, the session convened by EkStep Foundation's Bachpan Manao deliberated an uncomfortable question: what happens to childhood when artificial intelligence begins to shape how care, learning, and safety are decided? Technology leaders, policymakers and child development experts weighed in on how AI is being built into the systems that surround children, without their interests at the centre.

Hosted by Bachpan Manao under the EkStep Foundation pavilion, the panel "Raising with Algorithms: Who Shapes the World the Next Generation Grows Into" assembled voices from education, public policy, play-based design, and technology to surface a growing blind spot: AI is already embedded in the institutions surrounding children, not as a chatbot or screen, but as the invisible logic behind a teacher's recommendation, a frontline worker's dashboard, and a parent's late-night search.

Deepika Mogilishetty, Chief of Policy and Partnerships at EkStep Foundation, said, "As intelligent systems shape childhood, the real responsibility is ours: to protect what makes children human, design technology that enhances rather than burdens, measure what truly matters, and ensure the values we build into systems reflect the futures we want for them."

The Hidden Stakes of Algorithmic Care

Panellists were united on one point: the most consequential impacts of AI on children are not direct. They are mediated through the adults whom children depend on. When AI-generated alerts, scores, and dashboards begin to feel like instructions - rather than inputs - the ability of teachers and caregivers to exercise their own judgement erodes.

"The more teachers are forced to fill in data, the bigger the burden becomes, and the less time they have to spend with the kids they are responsible for. We must reaffirm to teachers that they must trust their own judgement," said Pallavi Poojari Mohindra, Co-Founder & CEO, Nurturant

What Data Misses About Children

Grounded in Bachpan Manao's eight elements of early childhood - play, creativity, quiet time, social bonding, nature, all-around skills, education, and stories - speakers challenged a core assumption: that what matters most can be measured.

Vedeika Shekhar, Public Policy Specialist at NITI Aayog, warned that AI-driven monitoring tends to crowd out qualitative insight: "Data only presents half the picture. AI and monitored learning often leave out the nuances of an individual child's progress."

Children Should Not Be the Test Market

Adam Ingle, Global Lead for Digital Policy at the LEGO Group, issued one of the session's sharpest challenges to the technology industry: "You can't release products and then patch them up later to ensure they're safe for children. Children shouldn't be the test market. We want children to be key in AI's development - not its subjects."

Bronson Bakunga of Crane AI Labs added a longer-horizon concern: "We don't want systems that stop children from making mistakes of their own. Some things should not be optimised to that level. The ability to have nuanced feedback that is culturally grounded should never be optimised away."

The session concluded with a call that reframed the entire AI discourse: the question is no longer adoption, but stewardship. As Azeez Gupta, Founder of Rocket Learning, put it, "Alongside the rapid development of intelligent systems, the quality and quantity of in-person human interactions should increase with each generation - ensuring that progress deepens connection rather than replaces it."

Through this dialogue, Bachpan Manao reaffirmed its founding conviction: that childhood wellbeing must be at the centre of AI conversations - not as an afterthought, but as the measure by which progress is judged.

About Bachpan Manao

Bachpan Manao (Celebrate Childhood) is a national societal mission spearheaded by EkStep Foundation, co-founded by Nandan Nilekani, Rohini Nilekani, and Shankar Maruwada. The campaign recognises the critical importance of early childhood years (0-8 years) and works to ensure every child in India can grow and learn to their full potential through joyful, holistic development. With 100+ partner organisations, Bachpan Manao is creating a whole-of-society approach to celebrating and strengthening childhood. The mission focuses on joyful learning through play, recognising that the first 400 weeks of life lay the foundation for lifelong learning and development.