webinar

Youth Voices on AI

PAST EVENT
May 28, 2026

From education to the workforce, from mental health to social connections, AI’s influence on young people’s lives is everywhere. During GTY’s May 28 Youth Voices on AI webinar, youth leaders shared how they are navigating the opportunities and challenges of AI, raising important questions about creativity, equity, bias, human connection, and what it means to center humanity in an AI-driven future.

Top Takeaway

Young people are not waiting for adults to figure out AI. They are already navigating its benefits and risks, questioning its impact on creativity, relationships, equity, and learning, and calling for a future where human connection remains at the center of technological change.

More Takeaways

  1. Youth are using AI in nuanced and intentional ways. Panelists described using AI to support learning, organize ideas, overcome language barriers, explore coding, and improve communication. Rather than viewing AI as inherently good or bad, they emphasized the importance of using it as a tool that supports human thinking rather than replaces it.
  2. AI is reshaping relationships and how young people seek support. Speakers discussed how some young people are turning to AI for emotional support, conflict resolution, and advice. While AI may feel accessible and nonjudgmental, panelists emphasized that authentic human relationships provide challenge, accountability, empathy, and growth in ways AI cannot.
  3. Bias, representation, and equity remain critical concerns. Youth leaders highlighted examples of AI reinforcing stereotypes related to gender, race, and professional roles. They stressed the importance of asking who is building AI systems, whose experiences are represented, and how these technologies may shape young people’s understanding of themselves and others.
  4. Young people want to be part of the evolution of AI. Throughout the webinar, speakers challenged assumptions that youth are simply passive users of AI. They called for more opportunities for young people to help shape policies, practices, and conversations about AI’s role in education, creativity, mental health, and society.

Resources

Learn more:
The Rithm Project
Girl Security
Letters to Strangers
Give Us The Floor

What Can Philanthropy Do?

  • Invest in opportunities for youth leadership and decision-making around AI and emerging technologies.
  • Support digital literacy efforts that help young people understand how AI works, recognize bias, and make informed choices about when and how to use AI.
  • Fund programs that strengthen belonging, mentorship, peer relationships, and mental health supports so young people have trusted human connections alongside technological tools.
  • Ensure conversations about AI center equity, representation, access, and community impact.

Memorable Quotes

It’s really important that when people use AI, they know that they’re using it as a tool and not just as a shortcut.

—Poorvita Vijayananda, Letters to Strangers

AI should be able to frame your thinking, not think for you.

—Susann Dunlap, Girl Security

I don’t think enough people are saying, so much of what makes art beautiful is the entire human process.

—Marisol Jimenez, The Rithm Project

We’re likely not talking enough about the ways in which AI is reshaping human relationships.

—Alison Lee, The Rithm Project

Contact the Speakers

If you’d like to follow up with any of these speakers, please reach out to GTY.

Speakers

Alison Lee

Chief R&D Officer, The Rithm Project

Alison Lee is the Chief R&D Officer of The Rithm Project, leading youth-centered research as well as emerging tech foresight to fuel a powerful generation equipped to rebuild and evolve human connection in the age of AI. A researcher, cognitive scientist, and product strategist, Alison’s spent her career studying and designing for youth belonging and safety. Her work spans from liberatory educational models, to researching trust & safety and responsible AI at Meta and Instagram, with a laser-focus on supporting youth thriving in a tech-powered world. Alison holds a Ph.D in Cognitive Science in Education and Masters in Learning Analytics (Machine Learning in Education) from Columbia University.

Marisol Jiminez

Youth Fellow, The Rithm Project

Marisol Jimenez is an educator and creative technologist working at the intersection of AI, youth wellbeing, and making. She is a collaborator and youth facilitator with The Rithm Project, an initiative exploring how AI shapes social connection and wellbeing among young people. With a background spanning design engineering, computer science, and AI ethics, she brings both technical depth and a belief that young people shouldn’t just be subjects of research — they should be co-creators of it.

That conviction has carried her into some of the most prominent conversations happening in this space. She has presented on panels at EdTech Week in New York City and at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, where she joined The Rithm Project’s Chief R&D Officer to discuss youth co-creation as a methodology in AI and social research. She has also helped facilitate research presentations and contributed to the synthesis of findings from The Rithm Project’s latest youth survey, always as someone with one foot in the classroom and the other in the bigger picture.

Jaise

Youth Art Director, Give Us The Floor

Jaise (he/him) is the Youth Art Director at Give Us The Floor, and graduating high school this year. In his 2+ years with Give Us The Floor, Jaise has produced dozens of videos on important 2SLGBTQIA+ topics, created a new set of brand guidelines for the org, served on the Youth Advisory Board, and helped secure the It Gets Better Changemakers grant alongside other members of the youth team.

In early 2026, Jaise also led efforts to establish Give Us The Floor’s first-ever AI policy, working with a former Creative Director on the Harris-Walz campaign to develop important talking points and guidelines that would shape this policy, garnering unanimous agreement among the youth team.

In the fall, he will begin college at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), where he will major in Studio Arts and minor in Business. In his spare time, Jaise likes to make music, read, and write poetry.

Susann

Girls Security

Susann is from IL. She recently graduated from high school where she participated in many activities such as Girls Security, Mathletes, and flag football, and served as the layout editor of the school’s physical newspaper. She also recently placed 5th place and 6th place in the Illinois High School Association state competition for Yearbook Copy Writing and Newspaper design, respectively. In the future, she will attend Harvard College and receive the Gates Scholarship for full financial support. There, she looks forward to expanding her scope of impact through mathematics. And, one fun fact about her: she absolutely loves biking and exploring the outdoors whenever she has the free time to do so.

Poorvi V

Letters to Strangers

Poorvi V. is a junior in high school interested in how AI is changing both science and everyday life. She works in research labs at in California using computational and AI tools to study heart and kidney disease. She has also consulted on digital wellbeing initiatives including a mental health YouTube series and projects with the New Mexico Department of Health. Through Letters to Strangers, she works on mental health advocacy and supports chapter programs across the world. She also runs MilpitasHacks, a large hackathon where students build projects for nonprofits — coding for a cause!

Presented by

Grantmakers for Thriving Youth

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