How AI Revolution Is A Double-Edged Sword For Children

In just two years, artificial intelligence has undergone a revolution. Genera­tive AI tools like ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini, and Microsoft’s Copilot have rapidly become part of our daily lives. With Meta integrating AI chatbots into popular platforms like WhatsApp, Face­book, and Instagram, the technology is more accessible than ever before.

For children growing up in this AI-pow­ered world, the implications are both excit­ing and concerning, warns Anna Collard, senior vice-president: content strategy and evangelist at KnowBe4 Africa.

In Nigeria, the adoption of AI technol­ogies can lead to a dependence on foreign technology providers, which can pose risks to national security and economic sovereignty. Finally, the development and use of AI raise complex ethical and legal questions.

To address these risks and challenges, Nigeria will need to develop a comprehen­sive regulatory framework for AI, invest in developing its AI talent pool, and promote public awareness and education about the benefits and risks of AI. This will require collaboration between government, aca­demia, civil society, and the private sector to ensure that AI is developed and used in a way that is ethical, equitable, and bene­ficial to all Nigerians.

“These AI tools offer unprecedented opportunities for learning, creativity, and problem-solving. Children can use them to create art, compose music, write stories, and even learn new languages through engaging interactive methods,” Collard explains. “The personalised nature of AI chatbots, with their ability to provide quick answers and tailored responses, makes them especially appealing to young minds.”

However, as with any transformative technology, AI brings with it a host of po­tential risks that parents, educators, and policymakers must consider carefully. From privacy concerns and the danger of overtrust to the spread of misinforma­tion and possible psychological effects, the challenges are significant. “As we step into this AI-driven era, we must carefully weigh the incredible potential against the genuine risks,” warns Collard. “Our chal­lenge is to harness AI’s power to enrich our children’s lives while simultaneously safeguarding their development, privacy, and overall well-being.”

“Parents need to know that while they seem harmless, chatbots collect data and may use it without proper consent, leading to potential privacy violations.”

The extent of these privacy risks var­ies greatly. According to a Canadian Stan­dards Authority report, the threats range from relatively low-stakes issues, such as using a child’s data for targeted advertis­ing, to more serious concerns. Because chatbots can track conversations, pref­erences, and behaviours, they can create detailed profiles of child users. When used for malicious purposes, this information can enable powerful manipulative tactics to spread misinformation, polarisation, or grooming.

Collard points out further that large-lan­guage models were not designed with chil­dren in mind. The AI systems that power these chatbots train on vast amounts of adult-oriented data, which may not ac­count for the special protections needed for minors’ information.

Another concern for parents is that chil­dren may develop an emotional connec­tion with chatbots and trust it too much, whereas in reality, they are neither human nor their friends. “The overtrust effect is a psychological phenomenon that is closely linked to the media equation theory, which states that people tend to anthropomor­phise machines, meaning they assign hu­man attributes to them and develop feel­ings for them,” comments Collard. “It also means that we overestimate an AI system’s capability and place too much trust in it, thus becoming complacent.”

Too much in generative AI can lead chil­dren to make poor decisions because they may not verify information. “This can lead to a compromise of accuracy and many other potential negative outcomes,” she explains. “When children rely too much on their generative AI buddy, they may become complacent in their critical think­ing, and it also means they may reduce face-to-face interactions with real people.”

AI chatbots, despite their sophistica­tion, are not infallible. “When they are unsure how to respond, these AI tools may ‘hallucinate’ by making up the answer in­stead of simply saying it doesn’t know,” Collard explains. This can lead to minor issues like incorrect homework answers or, more seriously, giving minors a wrong diagnosis when they are feeling sick.

“AI systems are trained on information that includes biases, which means they can reinforce these existing biases and provide misinformation, affecting chil­dren’s understanding of the world,” she asserts.

From a parent’s perspective, the most frightening danger of AI for children is the potential exposure to harmful sexual material. “This ranges from AI tools that can create deepfake images of them or that can manipulate and exploit their vulner­abilities, subliminally influencing them to behave in harmful ways,” Collard says.

As with most new technology, over-use can have poor outcomes. “Excessive use of AI tools by kids and teens can lead to reduced social interactions, as well as a reduction in critical thinking,” states Collard. “We’re already seeing these neg­ative psychological side-effects in children through overuse of other technologies such as social media: a rise in anxiety, de­pression, social aggression, sleep depriva­tion and a loss of meaningful interaction with others.”

Navigating their way through this brave new world is difficult for children, parents and teachers, but Collard believes that pol­icymakers are catching up. “In Europe, while it doesn’t specifically relate to chil­dren, the AI Act aims to protect human rights by making sure AI systems are safer.”

Until proper safeguards are in place, parents will need to monitor their chil­dren’s AI usage and counter their negative effects through introducing some family rules. “By prioritising play and reading that children do not do on screens, parents will help boost their children’s self-esteem, as well as their critical-thinking skills.”