AI creates new dangers for children, research has found, as experts warned that “immense harm is done to teenagers by unrestricted access before they are emotionally ready”.
The London School of Economics (LSE) Digital Futures for Children centre published research has found that AI makes existing dangers cheaper, faster, more personalised, and harder to detect.
There are design and accountability problems baked in before a single child ever opens the app, the research found.
The Internet Watch Foundation is already reporting rapid growth in AI-generated child sexual abuse material that evades existing detection.
AI-driven tools enable the non-consensual “nudification” of images at scale. The Children’s Commissioner found it is pushing girls out of online spaces entirely.
The UK’s Online Safety Act focuses on removing illegal content after publication, not on holding platforms accountable for deploying the features that enable harm in the first place.
The EU AI Act explicitly names children as a protected group while UK legislation doesn’t.
AI makes the worst risks cheaper, faster, and harder to spot
Colette Mason, Author & AI Consultant at London-based Clever Clogs AI, said no one is thinking of the effect of AI on children.
She added: “The Education Secretary called AI ‘the biggest boost for education in the last 500 years.’ The same week, LSE researchers audited generative AI tools already running in UK schools and found not one had conducted a child rights impact assessment. Sadly, that gap is the biggest factor to consider.”
Rohit Parmar-Mistry, Founder at Burton-on-Trent-based Pattrn Data, said an assessment needs to be done before AI is used by kids.
He added: “We keep treating children as a special interest group in tech policy. They are not. They are the default users of these systems, and AI makes the worst risks cheaper, faster, and harder to spot, long before anyone moderates a single post. On schools: I would not copy clinical trials wholesale, but AI in education should require a mandatory pre-deployment clearance.
“Not a 200 page tick-box, a short child rights and safety assessment, evidence of testing, data minimisation, and a named accountable owner. Otherwise the most stretched schools become the test bed. On liability: it has to be shared, but weighted upstream.
“Developers own model and safety design. Platforms own feature deployment and incentives. Schools and councils own procurement choices. For teen wellbeing bots, the lever is the business model. If engagement drives revenue, safety will always lose. Regulators should force auditable duty-of-care metrics and real penalties, plus independent access to test systems.”
We see immense harm done to teens
Jennie Prewett, Founder and Trustee at Bristol-based Incredible Kids, said teenagers are technologically ahead of adults
She added: “Teens are often ahead of their parents in their understanding of using AI and evading internet safeguards.
“As a result we see immense harm done to teens by unrestricted access before they are emotionally ready. As a tool, it’s life-changing for young people, but AI safety and the internet in general is a big concern.”
Photo by Giu Vicente on Unsplash.
