AI와 놀이하는 아이들: 유아의 인공지능 기기와의 경험 연구

Playing with AI: Children’s Experiences with AI Devices

This study investigates how 3-year-old children encounter and engage with artificial intelligence (AI) devices in the everyday context of classroom play. Whereas most existing research has focused on older children or emphasized their ability to understand or perform AI-related functions, this study explores how younger children respond to and integrate AI into their spontaneous play. Conducted over six weeks in a public kindergarten in Seoul, the study observed a class of eleven 3-year-olds interacting with four AI technologies introduced sequentially and without prior instruction: an AI reading robot (LUKA), two AI speakers (Kongsuni and NUGU), and a tablet equipped with a voice-based GPT application. Using a qualitative case study design, data were collected through video recordings and observation journals and analyzed thematically to identify patterns of interaction and meaning-making. The findings revealed that the children’s engagement varied according to each device’s appearance and responsiveness, with immediate and expressive feedback serving as key factors in sustaining play. Devices capable of initiating interaction facilitated natural transitions into play, whereas open-ended structures supported the continuation and expansion of interaction. Over time, children began to perceive AI devices not merely as functional tools but as interactive partners, reflecting on how to communicate and form relationships with them. These results suggest that encounters with AI in early childhood are not simply technological experiences but meaning-making processes through which children integrate devices into play in their own ways. These implications highlight the need for AI education in early childhood to prioritize relational engagement and spontaneous play, supported by teachers who listen attentively and respond sensitively to children’s experiences.