Next week, Google will launch a child-friendly Gemini AI for kids under 13, giving parent-controlled accounts’ access through Family Link with better safety filters and privacy protection, according to The New York Times.
The Gemini AI for kids, designed to support children with their homework and creative tasks, such as story writing, will inform parents that their “child will soon be able to use Gemini Apps” and the first use, giving them the power of complete disabling via Family Link.
Parents have the choice to control or disable the AI tutor for kids at any moment.
“Gemini can make mistakes,” Google cautioned that children “may encounter content you don’t want them to see.”
Google highlighted the service won’t completely use, or rely, on children’s data for its Gemini AI training and it has already established a strong content moderation framework to expand the giant’s youth-oriented generative AI tools in sensitive education market.
Is AI Bad for Kids?
While Google is actively promoting Gemini AI for children as a tool for learning and creativity, for experts, it’s a polar opposite, where exposure of AI for kids is terrifying. Organizations like the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warn that AI could confuse or mislead children, especially those aware they are interacting with a machine.
“Gemini can make mistakes” and asking parents to educate their children responsibly how to use the AI. The tech giant also requested families to remind children not to enter personal or sensitive information into the chatbot,” Google said, acknowledging the risks in its letter to parents.
“However, it admitted that “Children may encounter content you don’t want them to see,” the Android parent added.
Generation AI Establishing Global Standards for Children and AI
Google’s generative AI learning for kids release follows previous efforts by Gemini-parent to create children-friendly platforms, such as YouTube Kids, which was launched in 2015. Other tech companies have not had their luck, as seen in Meta’s efforts to roll out Instagram Kids was suspended in 2021 after being criticized by child safety activists.
In 2019, Google and its subsidiary YouTube were fined the largest penalty ever levied under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) law, reaching a whopping $170 million by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in violation of the protection Act.
“Google and YouTube knowingly and illegally monitored, tracked, and served targeted ads to young children just to keep advertising dollars rolling in,” said New York Attorney General, Letitia James, in a statement.
Tech companies have faced a multitude of legal hurdles over privacy, particularly involving AI for kids, and Google itself was fined for violating COPPA, which mandates parental consent before collecting data from children under 13.
“These companies put children at risk and abused their power, which is why we are imposing major reforms to their practices and making them pay one of the largest settlements for a privacy matter in US history,” the New York Attorney General added to her statement.
The Amercian Academy of Pediatrics highlights that persistent data harvesting by the Big Tech giant, alongside well-established AI companies such as OpenAI, as well as poorly vetted AI interactions could harm children’s cognitive and emotional development. As it stands right now, regulatory frameworks lag behind the speed of technological advancements.
As tools of generative AI for kids enter homes and classrooms, Google’s cautious rollout of Gemini AI for kids shows an attempt to balance innovation with responsibility. Still, the move is supposed to reignite debates about how young children should be introduced to advanced technologies and how best to protect them when they are.
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