SOS Children's Villages and Terre des Hommes warn of AI risks for children

The children's rights organizations SOS Children's Villages Worldwide and Terre des Hommes have warned about the dangers of artificial intelligence for children and young people. The risk exposure currently exceeds the protective measures in place, according to a joint report by the organizations, which was reported by the editorial network Germany.

AI shapes education, social media, search engines, entertainment and creative tools "often invisibly, so that young people routinely interact with it before they can name it," it says. According to the authors, the same design features that create personalization and accessibility also enable threats of misinformation, bias, dependency and commercial exploitation.

Gaps in legal regulation

While technology companies are driving development forward with large sums of money, legal regulation is increasingly lagging behind, said the board member of SOS Children's Villages Worldwide, Sabina Schutter, to the RND. Child protection does not just mean reducing risks. »Children and young people need skills in order to be able to use digital spaces critically, safely and confidently.«

Joshua Hofert, CEO of Terre des Hommes, said child protection “must be part of every AI application from the start.” While tech companies earned billions, young people often remained unprotected - especially against deepfakes, manipulative algorithms and emotional dependency.

According to a study by the health insurance company DAK, more than 25 percent of minors use AI applications several times a week. Children and young people most often use AI for homework help and to search for information; But more than half also use it out of curiosity or for entertainment.