Using AI safely and responsibly

Young people and parents and carers agree that the government could do more on this important issue. The majority of young people – 75%  – think the government should make more rules so that AI companies keep children safe. Most parents agree with this, with around two thirds (65%) stating that the government is not doing enough to keep children and young people safe when using AI, and should be doing more.

Our research clearly demonstrates that parents and carers are the most important source of information and support for young people when it comes to safe and responsible use of AI. They are also the first place young people will go if they are worried about their use of AI or content they have seen made using AI. This said, when asked what help they would most like to have about using AI safely and responsibly, many young people answered that they would welcome even more conversations at home, with almost a third (30%) of young people saying they would like more chats with their parents or carers about AI. This is especially so among younger children, with 35% of 8 to 12-year-olds saying this compared to 25% of 13 to 17-year-olds. A similar proportion (31% ) of young people would also like help or information for their parents or carers about AI, highlighting that many young people recognise that their parents and carers need more support to navigate this challenging area.

Our research shows too that schools have a vital role to play, both to help young people learn about staying safe and to set clear parameters for use of AI in studying and schoolwork. Over half (51%) of young people want more lessons at school about how to use AI safely and responsibly. Parents and carers largely agree that schools are playing an important role already, but that there is scope to do more. While just over a third (35%) of parents and carers think schools are “doing about the right amount” to keep children and young people safe when using AI, almost half (49%) think they should be doing more. These calls to action from young people and their parents and carers present an enormous opportunity for schools to continue and extend the valuable work they are already doing through online safety education, and we hope the resources offered by the UK Safer Internet Centre for Safer Internet Day will help schools respond.

Finally, many young people are asking for clearer guidance from schools on using AI. Two in five young people (40%) want clearer or easy-to-understand rules at school about when it’s OK to use AI for schoolwork. This is likely closely connected to the fact that, as highlighted earlier, over half (53%) of young people are worried that their school may think that they used AI for their work when they didn’t. We hope this demand for guidance from young people can serve to ignite productive conversations among teachers and pupils about appropriate and responsible use of AI, which supports learning and creativity, in their settings.

Parents and carers would like to see the technology industry, including AI, social media, and gaming companies, doing more to help keep young people safe and to protect their children’s privacy. 60% of parents and carers – similar to the proportion that feel the government should be doing more – think the technology industry is not doing enough to keep children and young people safe when using AI and should be doing more. 61% of parents and carers think AI companies, specifically, should be doing more. An equally high number of parents and carers are worried about their children’s privacy. 62% of parents and carers are worried about the information that AI companies are collecting about their child when they are using their services, including a quarter (25%) who are “very worried”. Young people too are asking AI companies to do more, with over a third (34%) wanting clearer information from companies about how to keep safe whilst using their AI service.