Gen AI and Youth Policy Workshop

in partnership with the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence at the University of Cambridge

Shaping the Future of AI Policy for Youth Well-being

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Workshop Outcomes

This workshop at the University of Cambridge offered a rare opportunity to address one of the most urgent policy challenges of our time:

How might we design policies for AI chatbots that advance youth wellbeing?

In a closed-door, Chatham House–style workshop  followed by a public fireside chat, senior leaders from policy, research, industry, and civil society:

  • Aligned around the risks and potential benefits of AI chatbot use by youth, grounded in the principle of human flourishing.

  • Addressed gaps in AI governance that often overlook the developmental needs and rights of youth and are failing to ensure that AI technologies foster human flourishing rather than cause harm.

  • Developed a prototype policy for AI and youth in a whitepaper for policymakers that can be adapted to different jurisdictions and contexts. This whitepaper will be used to inform public dialogues and debates about AI and youth policy.

  • Launched a bipartisan, transatlantic working group to further develop this policy and other AI and youth policies in the US, UK, and EU.

The Workshop

The Challenge

The introduction of widely available Generative AI (Gen AI) tools in 2022 with the release of ChatGPT was a significant and pivotal event for humanity.  

It is the first technology to direct its own activity and to be convincingly human. 

Young people have been among the fastest adopters of these new tools, and today are interacting with machines that can mimic human language, human voices and have agency to build ongoing relationships.

Instant, powerful and frictionless, Gen AI is rapidly shaping the lives of children and youth, with profound impacts on their emotional, social and intellectual development. 

Gen AI products, including toys, are being marketed to children and youth by companies that have for-profit business models and corporate governance structures that ultimately seek to maximize “lifetime user value” and shareholder value. 

The Opportunity

To address these new issues, Noēsis partnered with the LeverHulme Center for the Future of Intelligence to co-host a day workshop within the historic halls of Jesus College, University of Cambridge. We approached this challenge from a positive of lens of designing AI for youth flourishing, grounding the event in youth voices.

Our speakers and participants included youth and civil society leaders from Young People’s Alliance, Common Sense Media; leading experts in youth development and human flourishing from universities like Harvard, London School of Economics, the University of Oxford, the University of Southern California; product policy experts from leading AI companies like OpenAI, Google DeepMind and Hugging Face, and policy experts from the Foundation for American Innovation, American Compass, IEEE, and the Federal Trade Commission.

We are extremely thankful for the generous support from our sponsors Omidyar Network, Einhorn Collaborative, Lumina Foundation and The Risman Foundation.

A man giving a presentation on stage with a slide that reads "Design Principles for Youth Flourishing." The presenter is talking into a microphone, and three women are seated at a table in the foreground, listening.

Former Managing Director of IEEE Standards, Dr. Konstantinos Karachalios and global expert on age appropriate design standards.

A young man giving a presentation at a podium, smiling, with a laptop and microphone. The podium has a crest. An audience member's head is visible in the foreground. There is a colorful painting on the wall to the left.

Founder and CEO of the Young People’s Alliance, Sam Hiner. Sam presented a draft policy framework for AI and youth.

Cambridge Workshop 2025 Video Gallery

Workshop Highlights

Interview with Julianne Holt-Lundstad

Fireside Chat with Ron Ivey, Henry Shevlin, and Sonia Livingston

Interview with Ravi Iyyer

Interview with Dean Ball

Interview with Andrew Briggs

The Rise of Social AI by Henry Shevlin

Youth Voices on Social AI by the Young Peoples Alliance

Featured Speakers & Participants

  • A woman with shoulder-length brown hair and fair skin, wearing a black blazer, a red top, and a silver necklace with a cross, posing against a white wall with a window in the background.

    Maria Axente

    Founder & CEO, Responsible Intelligence

  • Portrait of a man with light brown hair, glasses, wearing a dark suit, light blue shirt, and patterned tie, against a white background.

    Dean Ball

    Senior Fellow, The Foundation for American Innovation

  • Portrait of a smiling older man with gray hair, wearing a dark suit, light blue shirt, and yellow tie, standing outdoors with a blurred background of buildings and colorful elements.

    Andrew Briggs

    Emeritus Professor of Nanomaterials, University of Oxford and Executive Chair, QuantrolOx

  • A man with blue eyes, light brown hair, and a beard wearing a navy blue shirt, sitting indoors, with a patterned wall and window in the background.

    Andy Burrows

    CEO, Molly Rose Foundation

  • Portrait of a smiling man in a suit jacket and plaid shirt, standing in front of a bookshelf filled with books.

    Ian Marcus Corbin

    Founding Director, The Public Culture Project, Harvard University

  • A smiling young man in a dark suit and tie, with a neutral gray background.

    John Ehrett

    Chief of Staff and Attorney Advisor, U.S. Federal Trade Commission

  • Portrait of a young woman with dark hair smiling outside during daytime.

    Amina Fazlullah

    Head of Tech Policy Advocacy, Common Sense Media

  • A woman with long dark hair smiling outdoors on a sunny day.

    Thao Ha

    Associate Professor and Director of the @HEART Lab, ASU

  • Sam Hiner

    Sam Hiner

    Executive Director & Co-Founder, Young People’s Alliance

  • Black and white portrait of a woman with shoulder-length hair, smiling, wearing a dark top and earrings, posed with her hand near her chin against a plain background.

    Julianne Holt-Lunstad

    Professor & Director of the Social Connection & Health Lab, BYU

  • A young man with short dark hair, wearing a blue and white striped collared shirt, smiling softly, in a room with a potted plant and framed artwork in the background.

    David Hsu

    Senior Director of Programs, Omidyar Network

  • Black and white photo of a man with short dark hair, smiling and wearing a collared shirt.

    Ron Ivey

    Founder and CEO, Noēsis Collaborative & Fellow, Harvard Human Flourishing Program

  • A man with short dark hair wearing a blue and gray plaid shirt, smiling slightly, against a white background.

    Ravi Iyer

    Managing Director, USC Neely Center Psychology of Technology Institute

  • A young man with light brown hair, wearing glasses and a blue button-up shirt, smiling with arms crossed against a dark gray background.

    Will Jones

    Futures Program Associate, Future of Life Institute

  • A bald man in a light blue suit and tie smiling against a wooden background.

    Konstantinos Karachalios

    Managing Director, IEEE Standards Association

  • A man with short brown hair wearing a dark suit jacket and light blue dress shirt outdoors.

    Martijn Lampert

    Co-Founder and Research Director, Glocalities

  • A man with a beard and short hair wearing a dark suit and tie, smiling against a white background.

    Brad Littlejohn

    Director of Programs and Education, American Compass

  • A woman with curly gray hair smiling in front of a background of green leafy plants.

    Sonia Livingston

    Professor, Department of Media and Communications, LSE

  • A woman with shoulder-length light brown hair wearing a dark blue blazer, smiling in front of a plain gray background.

    Kim Malfacini

    Product Policy Lead, OpenAI

  • A woman with long blonde hair smiling in front of a mountainous landscape with green trees.

    Amanda McCroskery

    Applied AI Ethics & Governance Researcher, DeepMind

  • Close-up of a smiling middle-aged man with gray hair, wearing a dark shirt, standing indoors with plants in the background.

    Andrew McStay

    Director, The Emotional AI Lab and Professor of Technology and Society, Bangor University

  • Portrait of a young woman with light brown hair, wearing glasses, a white turtleneck, and a blue blazer, against a plain gray background.

    Amy Orben

    Programme Leader Track Scientist, MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge

  • Woman with glasses and long curly hair wearing a yellow scarf and blue jacket, smiling outdoors.

    Dorian Peters

    Assistant Professor, Institute for Technology and Humanity, University of Cambridge

  • Giada Pistilli

    Principle Ethicist, Hugging Face

  • A man with shoulder-length dark hair and a beard, wearing a white collared shirt and dark sweater, smiling in an indoor setting.

    Henry Shevlin

    Associate Director, Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence (CFI) and Programme Co-Director, Kinds of Intelligence

  • A portrait of a smiling woman with shoulder-length dark hair, wearing a sleeveless top.

    Felicity Tan

    Founding Executive Director, The Risman Foundation

  • A woman with long red hair, blue eyes, and fair skin, smiling and wearing a dark blazer.

    Terri Taylor

    Strategy Director for Innovation & Discovery, Lumina Foundation

  • A man in a blue suit holding a microphone, speaking at an indoor event with a patterned wall and banner in the background.

    Austin Tiffany

    Senior Director, Good Faith Partnership, AI Faith & Civil Society Commission

  • A smiling woman with long red hair wearing a black top with a ruffled collar standing against a neutral background.

    Angy Watson

    Chief People and Tranformation Officer, Paymentology

Cambridge Workshop 2025 Image Gallery

Man presenting in a conference room with whiteboard notes, holding a remote control and a paper, audience members listening.
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A woman with dark hair and a hand on her chin, standing in front of a whiteboard, wearing a dark green jacket, while people listen in a workshop or seminar setting.
Two women engaged in conversation at a table during a meeting or discussion in an indoor setting.
A young man in a white shirt standing behind a wooden podium with an emblem, giving a presentation in a conference room. He is smiling and looking at the audience, with a laptop on the podium and a microphone.
A conference room with a diverse group of people attending a presentation. The presenter is standing near a large screen, pointing at the display. The room has round tables with laptops, notebooks, and coffee cups. There is a large colorful artwork o
Business woman in blue blazer attending a professional meeting or conference.
Man with beard and glasses in a grey blazer and checkered shirt speaking at a meeting, surrounded by attentive women, in a room with large window and colorful artwork.
Two women sitting at a table in a meeting room, one smiling and wearing a black leather jacket and the other partially visible. There are water glasses, notebooks, and a water bottle on the table, with a framed abstract artwork hanging on the wall be
A woman with brown hair and wearing a beige blazer is speaking and gesturing with her hand during a meeting or discussion. Other attendees are seated around her, listening attentively.
A man with glasses and a bald head writing on a large whiteboard filled with colorful diagrams and text in an indoor art gallery.
A man in a brown blazer and white shirt with a name tag smiling and holding a pen to his face, talking to another person whose back is turned, in an indoor setting with large windows.
Man with glasses and beard speaking in a formal setting, wearing a brown blazer, white shirt, and black scarf, gesturing with his right hand.
Two men having a conversation at an event, one smiling, the other facing away, in a room with a colorful abstract painting in the background.
A woman with brown hair smiling while giving a presentation at a wooden podium, with a laptop open in front of her and a large screen displaying text in the background.
A woman with long curly dark hair and glasses, speaking at a podium during a presentation. She is wearing a white shirt, a maroon vest, and black pants. There is a colorful abstract painting behind her and a laptop on the podium.
A woman speaking passionately at a roundtable discussion with several other women. The setting appears to be a professional or conference environment, with laptops, glasses of water, and coffee mugs on the table, and large green plants in the backgro
A man in a tan blazer and blue shirt sits with his legs crossed, gesturing with his hands as he speaks to an audience in a room with large windows and other seated attendees listening.
A woman with glasses and shoulder-length hair is speaking or asking a question during a presentation or discussion in a conference room. She is wearing a brown blazer, white t-shirt, and jeans, with a necklace. Several other people with laptops are s
A man and a woman are having a conversation in a conference room. The man, with a bald head, is gesturing as he speaks. The woman has curly gray hair and is listening. There are tables, chairs, and presentation boards in the background.
A man in a gray blazer giving a presentation at a podium in front of an audience, with a laptop and notes in his hands.
An older man with glasses and gray hair speaking into a microphone during a panel discussion or conference.
Panel of five people at a conference table, with one woman speaking into a microphone, others looking at notes or screens, in a well-lit room with artwork on the walls.
A conference room with a panel of five individuals speaking at a table, and an audience seated at round tables listening. A large screen displays a presentation titled 'Shaping the Future of AI Policy for Youth Well-being, 10/14/2025, Jesus College,
A woman in a bright blue dress holding a coffee mug, smiling and engaging in conversation with a group of people in a professional setting.
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A man speaking at a lecture or presentation, standing behind a wooden podium with a laptop. There is a colorful, abstract painting in the background. The podium has a shield emblem on it.
A man in a gray suit giving a presentation with a microphone in his height, a woman in a blue top listening in the foreground.
A woman with a name tag labeled 'Felicity Tan' is engaged in a conversation with a man in a blue shirt at a professional meeting or workshop in a bright room with large windows and other people in the background.
Two people, a woman and a man, are standing and talking in a room, smiling at each other. The woman has brown hair, wears a green top, and has a name tag. The man has long hair, glasses, a white shirt, and beige pants. In the background, others are s
Woman in a blue shirt speaking into a microphone at a panel discussion, with two men seated beside her, glasses of water and a water pitcher on the table.
A man with glasses reading a pamphlet during a meeting, with other people seated at a table and a glass of water in front of him.
An older man with glasses and gray hair, wearing a suit, is speaking at a table during a meeting or discussion. There are papers, a laptop, and glasses of water on the table. Other people are partially visible around him.
A woman speaking at a panel or meeting, with three other people listening in a professional setting.
A panel discussion with three individuals seated on stage in front of bookshelves, with an audience watching.
Panel discussion in a grand, wood-paneled library setting with an audience seated facing three speakers on stage.
A woman with curly gray hair sitting in a chair, smiling and gesturing with her hands, with a bookshelf filled with books behind her.

Organizers

Black and white portrait of a smiling man with dark hair, wearing a collared shirt.

Ron Ivey

Research Fellow, Human Flourishing Program, Institute for Quantitative Social Science, Harvard University

Founder and CEO, Noēsis Collaborative

A man with shoulder-length dark hair and a beard smiling in black and white.

Henry Shevlin

Associate Director, LeverHulme Center for the Future of Intelligence, University of Cambridge

Program Director, Kinds of Intelligence Program