Ace App Adds New Rubrics to Measure How Kids Think & Learn with AI

New framework tracks Critical Thinking, Creativity, Communication, Collaboration & AI Literacy as parents and educators seek healthier AI choices for children.

BERKELEY, CA, UNITED STATES, October 1, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — As parents, educators and policymakers grapple with how artificial intelligence should be used by children, Curiosities.ai today announced a new education-focused Rubrics feature for Ace, its child-friendly voice AI app for kids ages 5–12, available immediately on the App Store.

The new feature gives parents greater visibility into children’s skill development across five areas: Critical Thinking, Creativity, Communication, Collaboration and AI Literacy, with guidance indicating whether behaviors are emerging, developing or excelling.

The launch comes at a pivotal moment for AI in education as policymakers balance tech benefits against risks to student privacy, safety, and independent thinking.

Ace was built around the idea that AI for kids should be more than an answer engine, but rather a tool to hone the instinct to ask more questions, stimulate cognition and ultimately, establish a new standard of creating curiosity rather than dependency.

The app uses natural voice conversation and child-friendly animated characters to encourage children to explore questions and curiosities, without the addictive companion design. Ace asks questions back and encourages children to reason through ideas, while Tinker reinforces learning by having children teach back what they have learned.

The new Rubrics feature provides a framework for understanding the skills children develop through interactions with Ace. Developed with educators, the rubric includes:

Critical Thinking: Analyzing and evaluating, drawing conclusions and problem solving
Creativity: Originality and inventiveness, perspective and revisions, and growth mindset
Communication: Expressing ideas, listening for meaning and range of purpose
Collaboration: Flexibility and compromise, shared responsibility and valuing contributions
AI Literacy: Critical questioning, verification and strategic communication

“As an elementary educator, I know that 21st-century success requires much more than traditional reading, writing and arithmetic. The Ace App fosters critical skills like communication, collaboration and critical thinking that are valued in and out of the classroom,” said Brook Pessin-Whedbee, Public School Teacher.

“By shifting kids from passive consumers to active investigators, Ace sparks a genuine curiosity that doesn’t end when the screen turns off; it inspires students to ask deeper questions, work with others and explore the real world around them.”

Separate from the parent-facing Rubrics feature, Curiosities.ai has developed an internal framework for evaluating how AI systems support child-oriented learning. The approach to AI for children is organized around three pillars: Think, Teach and Safety.

Think: The framework evaluates whether the AI uses Socratic techniques, promotes active reasoning and preserves the child’s agency rather than simply supplying answers.
Teach: It assesses whether the AI is age-appropriate, truthful and effective in helping children learn, as well as memory and continuity, and child interests and engagement.
Safety: It evaluates whether the AI exercises sound judgment and maintains healthy emotional boundaries, alongside instruction following, resistance to sycophancy and connection with trusted people.

“AI Is going to shape how our kids think. We still get to decide how. Parents are starting to ask a question that I think will define the next decade of childhood: ‘What happens to our kids’ ability to think when AI is always there to think for them?’ We need to build AI worthy of the minds we’re giving it to. I believe we need to build a different kind of AI for kids,” said Yi Ng, Founder and CEO at Curiosities.ai.

For Curiosities.ai, the results reinforce the product’s underlying philosophy: AI for children should create opportunities for children to investigate, question, reason and discover—not simply produce the fastest possible answer.

Parents can follow their child’s personalized learning journey through Ace’s family dashboard, which provides transparency into their child’s curiosities based on recent conversations. Ace Voice AI for Kids is available on the App Store for children ages 5–12. The app is priced at $7.99 for monthly and $79.99 for yearly subscriptions.

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About Curiosities.ai
Curiosities.ai is on a mission to make the future bright for kids. Its Ace voice AI app gives children ages 5–12 a child-friendly environment to explore their curiosities through natural conversation, with focus on safety, critical thinking and personalized learning. Backed by Reach Capital and advised by Scott Cook, Intuit’s co-founder.

Jessica Cooper
Curiosities AI
media@curiosities.ai
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