Children's use of AI has 'exploded' in last 12 months, experts warn

CyberSafeKid's annual report also revealed that there is a 'huge increase' in the number of children using AI to do schoolwork and homework. File picture

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) use among young people has "exploded" over the last year, online safety experts warn, as many children and young teens report they have never thought about the risk of sharing information with AI.

The findings are included in CyberSafeKid's annual report published today, which surveyed more than 7,000 students between the age of eight and 15. Generative AI refers to new content like text, images, and music being created by learning from existing data.

The report found: 

• 70% of eight– to 12-year-olds still have accounts on 13+ social media apps; 
• One in four children report negative experiences online, including a rise in exposure to sexual content among 12- to 15-year-olds; 
• Online gaming platform Roblox is now the most cited platform where eight to 12-year-olds encounter negative experiences. 

It found that 27% of 12- to 15-year-olds and 18% of eight- to 12-year-olds are using AI to do schoolwork and homework. This is a "huge increase" from the figures reported last year: 7% and 9% respectively, the report notes. 

Most young people are aware that they should not rely on the accuracy of AI responses. Just 5% of eight to 12-year-olds believe that AI is always right, and 9% of 12- to 15-year-olds think the answers are always accurate. 

However, knowledge about AI is not evenly distributed across the children surveyed. 

Children attending focus groups with CyberSafeKids spoke of encountering large volumes of 'AI-slop', produced using tools like Sora. One 12-year-old described exposure to bot accounts sharing AI-generated fake nude imagery, while another talked about environmental concerns.

Despite well-publicised concerns about AI misuse, including the creation of non-consensual intimate imagery (‘nudification tools’), impersonation and identity fraud, and the generation of misleading or harmful content, just 27% of eight- to 12-year-olds know that AI can be used to do bad things, like make fake images. 

A further 29% of 12- to 15-year-olds know that AI can be used to make fake images or spread false information.

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Many children have never received guidance from anyone about AI. Half of eight- to 12-year-olds and 45% of 12- to 15-year-olds say that no one has talked to them about using AI in a safe or smart way. 

Just 35% of eight- to 12-year-olds and 32% of 12- to 15-year-olds said they have spoken to a parent about AI use.

A third of eight- to 12-year-olds and 28% of 12- to 15-year-olds said they have never thought about the risk of sharing information with AI.  

Feedback collected by CyberSafeKids from focus groups and classroom discussions suggests that uploading photos of themselves and others for editing is already common practice among children.