Young children and digital technologies have been a topic of research, policy and practice in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) for more than forty years. The early days of research and thinking about young children and digital technologies evolved as digital computing became increasingly available and domesticated in the lives of many people, especially in industrialised societies. The advent of digital technologies in the lives of young children has raised many questions and concerns over time, such as the impact of technologies on children’s health and wellbeing, how best to use technologies to support young children’s learning and the role of digital technologies in young children’s play. As societies have continued to evolve with digital technologies, including the integration of the internet with daily life tasks, entertainment, work and education systems questions about young children and digital technologies continue to emerge. These include the ongoing role of technologies in children’s health and wellbeing, the need for online safety education for young children, and most recently the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into digital applications, games, content and educational services intended for pre-school aged children. Regarding AI there is an important distinction to make between AI in Education and AI and Education. AI in Education focuses on the use of AI to support and advance learning and teaching. AI and Education considers the important safety, privacy and ethical dimensions of using AI with young children. This address provides a historical interpretation of the ongoing relationship between young children and digital technologies, explaining how technological determinism has shifted in recent years towards understanding the relationship between people, technologies and society using critical constructivism. Critical constructivism provides an important basis for continuing to understand AI and online safety education in the early years.