  As Artificial Intelligence ecosystems become increasingly entangled within
our everyday lives, designing systems that are ethical, inclusive and socially
just is more vital than ever. It is well known that AI can algorithmic biases
that reflect, extend and exacerbate our existing systemic injustices. Yet,
despite most teenagers interacting with AI daily, only few have the opportunity
to learn how it works and its socio-technical complexities. This is a
particularly salient issue for marginalized communities. BIPOC teens are often
misrepresented throughout AI development and implementation, but they are also
less likely to receive STEM education.In response to these unprecedented
socio-technical challenges and calls for more critical approaches to
child-centered AI design and education, we explore how we can leverage
co-speculative design practices to help scaffold BIPOC youth (ages 14-17)
critiques of existing AI systems and support the re-imagining of more just AI
futures. Drawing on Harway's Situated Knowledges and Speculative Fabulations,
these workshops highlight the unique ways marginalized youth perceive AI as
having social and ethical implications and how they envision alternative worlds
with AI. Our case study describes three 2 hour sessions of a larger 8 week
black-led AI STEM program. Analysis includes, data from pre-post surveys,
workshop recordings, focus group discussions, learning artifacts, and field
notes. We contribute 1) a discussion of how youth perceive AI as having social
and ethical implications, 2) a nuanced understanding of how speculative
approaches can be leveraged to support youth engagement with complex
socio-technical issues and 3) enable youth to open up new AI possibilities in a
world absent of techno-capitalist values.
