AI for impact: delivering for children
Innovation Insights Dialogue 2026 explored how responsible AI can deliver social impact returns for children, strengthening systems for sustainable scale in the world’s most demanding contexts.
Tech, philanthropic, government, academic and multilateral sector leaders and changemakers gathered in Stockholm, Sweden, to share lessons and a bold ambition to advance impact for children and young people through a network of partners and collaborators committed to building responsible artificial intelligence (AI).
Hosted by UNICEF’s Office of Innovation (OOI), Innovation Insights Dialogue (IID) 2026 embraced possibility-driven innovation through thoughtful discussions of what responsible AI means, and how to move beyond pilots to trusted, scalable use cases embedded within public systems that improve outcomes for this and coming generations.
“What we do – or don’t do – with AI will change the world the next generation grows up in,” said Thomas Davin, OOI’s Global Director. How that world looks, is up to everyone added: “It requires all of us stepping in to define the systems, values and impact we want for parents, for children, for everyone.”
It is already clear that AI can strengthen frontline health delivery, reinforce institutional capacity, and improve measurable outcomes for children. Solutions supported by UNICEF – including air pollution monitoring, cash transfers, youth skills for social innovation and edtech for children – are the proof points for AI’s potential in emerging markets.
“The key takeaway for us, related to our work in low-income country settings, is being mindful of the safety and reliability of AI.”
The day’s five deep-dive sessions interrogated AI in primary health services, humanitarian cash programming, climate data systems, learning and skills development.
Health technologists, humanitarian specialists, climate advisors, educators and policy leaders shared deep knowledge and understanding that is critical to advancing AI impact for children and young people. The discussions underscored that responsible AI for children is not built in isolation but through conversations that are candid, rigorous and grounded in experience.
“Google DeepMind is developing AI to solve problems. And we can't do that without people understanding each other.”
At the centre of discussions was AI in Play, UNICEF’s purpose-driven platform for tech industry leaders to come together in collective action. Co-designed and supported by Arm, AI in Play is building responsible AI use cases that tackle global inequities, backing diverse AI solution builders today and equipping generations of young people with AI literacy so they are creators of AI solutions of the future.
