Review of studies on the use of artificial intelligence in early childhood

The purpose of this study is to identify applied research on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in early childhood education, which has become increasingly popular in recent years. To find and examine these applied studies, a systematic literature review was conducted. Using the keywords ("Artificial Intelligence" OR "AI" OR "Chatbot" OR "ChatGPT") AND ("early childhood" OR "young child*" OR "preschool*" OR "kindergarten*" OR "pre-k*" OR "childcare" OR "child care" OR "day care" OR "children") AND ("education*"), searches were carried out in EBSCO, Web of Science, and Scopus databases. In addition, more articles and references were found through Google Scholar to make the research more comprehensive. A total of 2,402 sources were found. After filtering them based on the aim of the study, 10 articles were selected. These articles were reviewed in detail, the data were entered into an Excel sheet, and categorized based on specific criteria. The results showed the positive and negative aspects of using AI in early childhood education, the tools used, the benefits, the challenges faced, and suggestions for the future. According to the results, AI can support children's learning and help them learn faster. However, children may have difficulty applying what they learn to real life. The study also found that for AI to be used effectively in education, teachers need to be trained, and families should be informed. This study is expected to guide future research on the use of AI in early childhood education.