Parental mediation explains the intervention of parents in children’s media use with the
motive of minimising risks and maximising benefits associated with the use. Over the years,
parental mediation research has focused on children’s use of traditional and digital media such
as television, video games, social media, smartphones, internet, etc. The research shows that
parents use a number of approaches such as active, restrictive, co-use, active co-use,
interaction restrictions, technical restrictions, and monitoring in mediating children’s use of
these media. The emergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has presented a more complex
technology consumption experience, especially with the children. It is said to be the single
most influential technology on the future of today’s children. Children’s experience with AI is
largely characterized by para-social relationship between them and non-human characters.
The para-social relationship is in the form of attachment, character personification, and social
realism. This relationship has presented both risks and opportunities more than seen in
children’s experience with non AI technologies, thereby raising the pertinent question: Are the
existing parental mediation approaches still relevant in mediating children’s use of AI
technologies? This paper, a library research, attempts an answer to this question. It identifies
children’s experiences with AI technologies, pointing out the opportunities and risks associated
with the experiences. It goes on to examine the existing and emerging parental mediation
strategies and analyses their relevance in mediating children’s use of AI technologies. On this
basis, the paper proposes relevant parental mediation strategies for children’s use of AI
technologies. The proposed strategies include active, restrictive, co-use, participatory learning,
active co-use, interaction restrictions, technical mediation, monitoring, balancing mediation,
ad hoc mediation, permissive mediation, authoritarian surveillance, non-intrusive inspection,
and AI-based tools, as an extension of technical mediation. It is suggested that future research
should test these strategies empirically to ascertain their effectiveness.
Key words: Artificial Intelligence, AI Technologies, Children, Media, Parental Mediation