It is February 10, which means it is Safer Internet Day. To mark the occasion, the UK Safer Internet Centre has published research which found 60% of teenagers worry about AI being used to create inappropriate pictures of them, like we’ve seen with Grok in recent weeks. Shockingly, the research also found that 97% of young people between the ages of eight and 17 are using AI tools.
If you’ve used artificial intelligence, you will know that it can be quite sycophantic, agreeing with most of the things you say. This behavior also hit headlines when OpenAI had to rollback an update after ChatGPT started agreeing with people way too much. Of the kids surveyed, 58% percent said that AI makes their lives better, but this is a concern raised by a third of parents and carers who worry what impact AI is having on their children’s thinking and learning development, if AI is agreeing with everything the kid says and never challenges them, as a peer would.
Will Gardner OBE, UK Safer Internet Centre Director, said:
“Young people wanted us to focus on the safe and responsible use of AI this year, because its adoption into our everyday lives is moving quickly. Our research shows how young people are excited by this incredible technology and are using it more than ever across many online services, but they still have concerns, questions and want to learn more to equip themselves to use AI safely and responsibly. Thousands of schools and other organisations are taking part in Safer Internet Day, and we hope this kickstarts conversations in classrooms and homes around the UK and helps young people be better supported when it comes to AI.”
As time goes on, researchers have found that kids are using more AI. 52% of those surveyed said they are using the technology more than they were six months ago, and 48% could be becoming dependent on it, saying that it is an important part of their life. 39% use AI search summaries every day, while 20% use chatbots like ChatGPT or MyAI every single day.
A big use case for AI is for education. 73% of kids said they find AI useful for their studies, and 54% are using it for homework help. This has created a perception of cheating among peers, with 50% of kids saying they’ve seen classmates using AI to do their work for them, but only 31% of parents think their child is doing this.
We’ve all heard about the anxiety that social media is causing children. AI is also causing some kids anxiety because 53% think that their teachers will wrongly accuse them of using AI to complete their school work. Additionally, nearly half think AI is making their generation less creative.
In terms of emotional and social support, 41% of teens think their peers are using AI for emotional support. 14% said they do talk to AI about things they don’t feel comfortable telling anyone else. Meanwhile, 45% use AI to practice social interactions like drafting difficult messages to friends.
As mentioned, 60% of young people and 65% of parents worry about AI being used to create sexualized images of them. 12% of teens even say they’ve seen peers use AI to make sexual images or videos of others. Despite the trust kids are putting in AI, only 46% think AI is actually safe for them to use.
So, could we see a clampdown on kids using AI from governments, as they’ve been doing with social media? It is highly likely. Just 19% of parents have actually set rules for its use at home, and only 72% of parents know how to talk to their kids about AI, leaving a decent chunk who don’t even know how to approach the subject. It is still early days for AI, but we have already heard of suicides related to the technology, so more regulation is likely incoming.