If your child is using AI for homework, chatting to a chatbot about their day, or playing around with image tools, you’ve probably wondered what to say and when. Dubai has just launched a free online platform to help. It’s called GenDubAI, and it’s built for parents of kids aged 8 to 15. Keep reading to find out all the important details on how it works.
The Team Behind It
Launched by the Dubai Centre for Artificial Intelligence (DCAI), together with the Community Development Authority (CDA) and Dubai Future Foundation. It’s free, available in Arabic and English, and designed for families with children aged 8 to 15.
Real Situations, Not Tech Lectures
This isn’t a “how AI works” textbook. Instead, it focuses on everyday moments parents may actually face. You’ll find step-by-step guidance, conversation starters, safety tips and activities to try together. The idea behind it is simple: many children are using AI far more than their parents understand it, and this helps close that gap.
Six Situations Parents Might Face
The platform’s main section covers six common scenarios:
- AI and homework: How to tell whether your child is really learning or just copying the answers AI gives them.
- Asking AI for personal advice: What to do when your child starts sharing feelings, friendships or worries with a chatbot instead of family.
- Creating with AI: How to encourage kids to make things like quizzes, songs and apps with AI, while staying creatively involved themselves.
- Leaning on AI too much: How to stop kids depending on AI answers so they build their own thinking and problem-solving skills.
- Fake images: How to respond when your child creates, shares or receives AI-made images of real people.
- Clashing values: How to handle it when AI gives answers that don’t fit your family’s values.
Each one covers what you can say, what you should know, how your approach might change depending on your child’s age, and activities you can try together.
What If Your Child Opens Up To AI Instead Of You?
Chatbots can feel like a trusted friend because they respond to feelings and ask follow-up questions. The platform understands that. It doesn’t suggest confronting your child or demanding to see their chats. Instead, it encourages you to build a space where they feel comfortable talking to you.
It even suggests a way to start the chat: “I’ve been reading about kids talking to AI about personal stuff. Has that ever happened to you?”
If your child says AI understands them better, try not to argue straight away. Ask what they find helpful about it, and think about how to make talking at home easier. The guide also says to respect your child’s privacy while keeping communication open, especially if they don’t want to share what they’ve discussed with a chatbot.
What If Your Child Makes A Fake Image?
This section helps families deal with AI-made fake images of real people. First, figure out what actually happened. Did your child make the image? Are they sharing something someone else made? Or did they receive an image of themselves? Or did they just come across it online? The guide encourages parents to stay calm and avoid jumping to conclusions.
- If your child made the image: Talk about whether the person in it would be comfortable with it.
- If it’s been shared: Work together to get it removed or reported on the platforms where it appeared.
- If your child is the one in the image: The platform treats this differently from a child creating or sharing one. If a child is shown without their consent, parents are advised not to pass the image on and to seek proper safeguarding support.
Images that are sexual, threatening, hateful or humiliating are treated as safety concerns that need extra care. The guide also gives suggested replies for when kids shrug it off as a joke or insist they’ve done nothing wrong.
How To Use GenDubAI
GenDubAI works in Arabic and English and is designed for mobile. You start by choosing one of three pathways:
- My child is using AI: Help with homework, creativity, personal chats and family values.
- I want to feel more ready: The basics of AI, safety, age considerations, privacy and possible risks.
- I want to build good AI habits together: Short family activities that get everyone talking and making decisions together about AI.
The platform brings together international guidance on AI and research done with UAE families. It’s currently a pilot, and future versions are expected to use parent feedback and add more content, tools and learning resources.
Ready to take the first step? Head to their website to explore GenDubAI and find the right guidance for your family.
