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Artificial intelligence is no longer a novelty. It is in the apps students use for schoolwork, the platforms they engage with socially and the devices they carry with them every day. Safeguards on the technology have not been as swift.<\/p>\n
Katie Adkins\/AP<\/p>\n
California has long been a leader when it comes to protecting children. We regulate what kids see on television, restrict advertising to minors, protect their data in schools and set standards for the products they use. But when it comes to artificial intelligence, there are virtually no rules in place to shield children or give parents the tools they need to monitor and control their kids\u2019 use.<\/p>\n
In just a few years, AI has moved from a novelty to a daily presence in the lives of young people. It\u2019s embedded in the apps students use for schoolwork, the platforms they engage with socially and the devices they carry with them every day. These AI tools can write, code and create in ways that would have once seemed unimaginable \u2014 and their adoption has been unprecedented.<\/p>\n
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Today, roughly 62%<\/a> of U.S. adults interact with AI weekly, whether at work or at home, according to a Pew Research Center survey. Children are adopting AI even faster. Nearly two-thirds<\/a> of U.S. teens surveyed by Pew reported using AI chatbots.\u00a0More than 80%<\/a> of high school students will be using AI for schoolwork by mid-2025, according to research by the College Board. But while AI capabilities have advanced at breakneck speed, the rules and safeguards meant to protect children have failed to keep up.<\/p>\n In California, there are still no consistent standards to ensure that AI systems interacting with kids are safe or to empower parents to help manage their children\u2019s use of the technology.\u00a0<\/p>\n San Francisco Chronicle Logo<\/p>\n Make us a Preferred Source to get more of our news when you search.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Add Preferred Source<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Already, families are beginning to navigate the challenges raised by rapidly advancing AI technologies. While there\u2019s a lack of research on the impacts of AI chatbots\u00a0on kids, some existing studies<\/a> highlight how exposure to sensitive, explicit or intimate content might impact young people. These concerns underscore why parents need greater transparency and more effective tools to help guide and support their children\u2019s use of AI. Parents and educators are already being asked to navigate this new reality without the tools they need, and children are being exposed to risks that were never contemplated when existing laws were written.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n For the communities we represent, this is not an abstract policy debate. Parents everywhere are already trying to keep their children safe in a digital world that moves faster than most families, schools and churches can respond. Too often, new technologies are introduced into our neighborhoods without adequate safeguards, transparency or accountability \u2014 leaving our communities to absorb the risks after the harm has already been done. California should not wait for another generation of children to become the testing ground for powerful tools that were not designed with their safety, dignity or future in mind. This is where the state has an opportunity and a responsibility to lead.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n