GENEVA: Children using AI are adopting the technology more than three times faster than adults, the United Nations Children’s Fund said, warning that safeguards are failing to keep pace.
UNICEF said new data from 10 countries showed at least 20 million children had used artificial intelligence. The agency said AI was already shaping childhood “for better and for worse.”
The agency estimated that 13 million children used AI for schoolwork or homework. It said about two million children, or one in 10 surveyed, turned to AI for advice about personal worries.
UNICEF said evidence on AI’s effects on child development, emotional well-being and exposure to harm was still emerging.
The agency described the current moment as a “global experiment” involving a generation of children.
Children surveyed also identified risks. UNICEF said one-third feared AI could be used for scams or misinformation, while one-quarter feared their images or videos could be manipulated into sexually explicit deepfakes.
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The agency said children often face the consequences of poorly regulated AI systems despite having little control over how platforms collect personal data or design the technology.
Ahead of the first Global Dialogue on AI Governance, UNICEF urged governments and technology companies to put children’s rights at the centre of AI rules.
It called for stronger protections against AI-enabled sexual exploitation, more research, safer systems, digital literacy for parents and children, and wider access to prevent an AI divide.
