Reclaiming Power over AI: Equipping Queer Teens as AI Designers for HIV Prevention

TL;DR

This paper addresses how GenAI can support HIV prevention for LGBTQ+ adolescents while mitigating biases that risk iatrogenic harm. It proposes a participatory design route that treats queer teens as AI designers, using meta-design for resistance and the PARQAIR-MH Delphi process to co-create safeguards and guidelines. A concrete plan centers a Youth Advisory Council within the Teen Health Lab to co-design a queer-centric AI health assistant and evaluate usability and harm. The work aims to produce equitable AI health tools and scalable processes for including marginalized youth in AI design, with practical implications for policy, education, and health outreach.

Abstract

In this position paper, we explore the potential of generative AI (GenAI) tools in supporting HIV prevention initiatives among LGBTQ+ adolescents. GenAI offers opportunities to bridge information gaps and enhance healthcare access, yet it also risks exacerbating existing inequities through biased AI outputs reflecting heteronormative and cisnormative values. We advocate for the importance of queer adolescent-centered interventions, contend with the promise of GenAI tools while addressing concerns of bias, and position participatory frameworks for empowering queer youth in the design and development of AI tools. Viewing LGBTQ+ adolescents as designers, we propose a community-engaged approach to enable a group of queer teens with sexual health education expertise to design their own GenAI health tools. Through this collaborative effort, we put forward participatory ways to develop processes minimizing the potential iatrogenic harms of biased AI models, while harnessing AI benefits for LGBTQ+ teens. In this workshop, we offer specialized community-engaged knowledge in designing equitable AI tools to improve LGBTQ+ well-being.