Google wants to “open up” the highly profitable field of artificial intelligence (AI) to children, and for this reason, it announced plans to make the Gemini AI chatbot accessible to individuals under the age of 13 through Google accounts managed by their parents. This move comes as all tech companies compete to attract young users with artificial intelligence products.

“The Gemini Apps will soon be available for your child,” Google said in an email to the parent of an 8-year-old. “This means your child will be able to use Gemini to ask questions, get help with schoolwork, and create stories,” the email stated, as reported by the New York Times.

The chatbot will be available to children whose parents use Family Link, a Google service that allows families to supervise and manage their child’s access to Gmail — and choose whether the child will have access to other Google services such as YouTube. To register for a child-specific account, parents provide the tech company with personal information such as the child’s name and date of birth. Google has stated that while children can activate Gemini on their own devices, parents will receive notifications upon first use and retain the ability to disable access at any time.

To ensure a safer environment, Google reports that it has implemented security measures to prevent the chatbot from generating inappropriate content. Additionally, the company has promised that data from child users will not be used to train its AI models.

In communications with parents, Google has acknowledged that “Gemini may make mistakes” and advised children to critically approach the chatbot’s responses. Parents are also encouraged to remind their children that Gemini is not a human and to avoid sharing sensitive personal information with the AI, according to the website Yourstory.

UNICEF Warning
UNICEF, the United Nations agency for children, along with other similar groups and organizations, has warned that artificial intelligence systems could confuse, misinform, and manipulate young children who may struggle to understand that chatbots are not human. “Artificial intelligence has produced dangerous content,” stated UNICEF’s global research office in a post about the risks of AI for children. Among other things, UNICEF supports adopting strict regulations to protect children’s rights in the digital age.

Google acknowledged certain risks in its email to families this week, notifying parents that “Gemini may make mistakes.” The tech giant suggests that parents be actively involved in their child’s interaction with the chatbot to guide them. Despite the company’s efforts to filter inappropriate material when children use its services, the email warns parents that children “may encounter content you don’t want them to see.”

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Source: Google: Τεχνητή νοημοσύνη και για παιδιά – Οικονομικός Ταχυδρόμος – ot.gr