The rapid developments in AI-based technologies have exposed traditional child-rearing structures to new opportunities and threats, necessitating a rethinking of the legal frameworks governing the protection of children’s educational rights. The present study, adopting an analytical-descriptive approach and relying on the jurisprudential-legal rule of “do no harm” as a theoretical framework, examines the challenges of AI to children’s educational rights. The main issue of the research is which aspects of children’s educational rights are most vulnerable in the smart ecosystem and how a normative model can be presented to protect these rights based on the principle of non-harm.
The research findings show that children’s educational rights in the age of artificial intelligence can be formulated in five fundamental axes: the right to safe and guided access to authentic content, the right to have favorable environments for the development of cognitive skills, the right to have environments that enhance social development and basic competencies, the right to immunity from psychological harm, and educational justice. At the same time, the unregulated use of intelligent systems can lead to harms such as cognitive dependence, behavioral manipulation, weakening of human interactions, and threats to mental health. The research results indicate that the principle of do no harm has the potential to be used as a normative basis for legal regulation and educational policy-making in the field of artificial intelligence; meaning that the principle of preventing harm and the priority of protecting the dignity and comprehensive development of the child over technological considerations should guide the design, development, and operation of intelligent systems. Accordingly, developing supportive standards, improving the technological literacy of parents and educators, and establishing effective monitoring mechanisms are essential for the practical realization of children's educational rights in the age of artificial intelligence.