Youth In the Age of Artificial Intelligence: Navigating New Challenges and Transformations

The rapid advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies has ushered in a new era of profound transformation for young people worldwide, presenting both unprecedented opportunities and critical challenges. As AI increasingly permeates education, labor markets, social interactions, and identity formation, youth are experiencing a paradigm shift in how they learn, work, relate to others, and envision their futures. Sociological inquiry into these dynamics is essential for understanding the evolving fabric of society and the specific vulnerabilities and agency of young people in this technological transition.

We hypothesize that the intersection of AI and youth constitutes a critical lens for anticipating future social structures, inequalities, and modes of civic participation. Through this lens, we can identify emerging patterns of social stratification, new forms of digital exclusion, and the innovative strategies youth employ to navigate, resist, or reshape AI-driven environments.

This special session invites scholars from sociology and related disciplines to contribute empirically grounded, theoretically novel, and analytically robust research examining how AI is reshaping the conditions of youth development. We particularly welcome comparative and intersectional perspectives that illuminate how AI's impact varies across different social, economic, and cultural contexts. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

• AI and the Future of Youth Employment
• AI in Education and Skill Formation
• Algorithmic Governance and Youth
• AI-Mediated Social Relations of Youth
• Digital Labor and Emotional Economy in the AI Era
• AI and Intergenerational Dynamics
• Youth’s Identity and Selfhood in the AI Era
• Ethical Engagement and AI Activism