Research Partnership

CONSYLIUM ×
Child-Centered AI Lab

Harvard Graduate School of Education

Schools are making consequential decisions about artificial intelligence while evidence about its effects on children and adolescents is still developing. They need research that reflects how students actually experience these technologies and the educational responsibilities of the adults who guide them. This need is central to CONSYLIUM’s research partnership with the Child-Centered AI Lab (CCAI) at Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Led by Ying Xu, Ph.D., CCAI studies how AI affects children’s learning, development, and well-being. Through this collaboration, the lab will conduct empirical research with CONSYLIUM school partners on questions concerning cognitive development, social-emotional learning, psychological well-being, academic identity formation, and the norms that shape AI use in schools. The research brings the lived experience of teachers and students into a field in which many important questions remain unresolved.

For participating schools, the partnership creates access to school-specific evidence that can inform decisions about instruction, student support, policy, and governance. Findings can help leaders evaluate assumptions about AI use, understand the experiences of their own communities, and determine where further inquiry is warranted. Faculty and students also contribute to research that can deepen the wider education sector’s understanding of how AI is affecting young people.

CONSYLIUM’s advisory work connects practicing educators with the institutional questions AI raises. The partnership with CCAI extends that commitment through systematic empirical inquiry. Together, these approaches give school leaders a stronger basis for making decisions grounded in educational priorities and informed by research, while remaining attentive to the limits of individual studies.

Learn more about the Child-Centered AI Lab→

“At CONSYLIUM, we believe that responsible AI integration in schools must be guided by empirical evidence. The Child-Centered AI Lab at the Harvard Graduate School of Education brings exceptional research expertise to understanding how AI shapes children’s learning and development. Its evidence-based research approach aligns closely with our mission to help schools navigate this rapidly evolving landscape. Through this collaboration, we aim to provide our partner schools with meaningful, school-specific research that informs their decisions and ensures that educational practice remains grounded in evidence and the needs of students.”

Sy Stokes, Ph.D.
Founder & Chief Executive Officer, CONSYLIUM

Our 2026–27 partnerships are already underway, with participating schools preparing to engage in studies through this collaboration.