JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

This position paper aims to introduce young carers as key stakeholders within the realm of informal caregiving and research on artificial intelligence which endeavours to assist within healthcare. This paper situates itself at the intersection of young people under the age of 18 providing care in the United Kingdom from a socio-legal and public health perspective. To do so, research on young carers and artificial intelligence is synthesised according to contextual, legal and social norms –in line with Larsson et al.’s norms-in-the-loop framework– as those have direct impact on adaptive digital technologies, even if the stakeholder is unaccounted for. The paper thus concludes by providing concrete on how to account for young carers, embedded within participatory design, to empower this important subgroup. We envision that this position paper provides evidence and justifications on why young carers need to be included as stakeholders in AI research. In other words, we present young carers so that AI researchers are aware of who they are, what to include in ethics applications on why young carers need to be included, and what practical steps can be taken into account.