Research, kids, play, and AI

This might be our most giggly conversation yet. Alicia Quan and Sarah Mondestin interview Annabel Blake (they/them), Principal AI Design Researcher at Canva. The three discuss connections throughout Annabel’s career and life, touching on various topics like research, kids, play, AI, ethics, toys, authorship, and advice for designers and researchers working the spaces of education and AI. So much gold in this one! About Annabel Annabel works on conversational interfaces, generative experiences for education and on early R&D. Annabel’s work lives at the intersection of research, design, and play and includes studying how young people experiment with AI recreationally and how they use it for fun, comfort, and creativity. Annabel also writes “strange little books for children, like a book you wear on your head or a story about a robot goat… that comes with a chatbot goat (called Sardine!).” Annabel’s Links ⁠Playful Futures⁠ ⁠annabelblake.com⁠ ⁠bookandbot.com⁠ ⁠Center for Humane Technology⁠ Chapters 00:00 - Annabel's Squiggly Career Path 03:14 - Olympic Journey and Injury 04:42 - Reflections on Career Squiggles 06:07 - Intersection of Research, Design, and Play 08:38 - Kids and AI: Restoration and Exploration 12:46 - Children's Books and Technology 17:39 - Young People and AI: Surprising Uses 21:39 - Designing for AI vs. Traditional UX 28:17 - Co-Design and Early Access Testing 32:48 - Educators and AI Tools 36:22 - Innovative Teachers and Their Challenges 39:24 - The Importance of Playfulness in Education 46:11 - AI in Education: Balancing Innovation and Ethics

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Research, kids, play, and AI is an episode from UX of EdTech by Alicia Quan.

This episode is 01:02:58 long.

This episode was published on Jun 24, 2025.

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