Former Google executive warns: How AI is putting your children at risk

Tom Siegel, a former vice president at Google, warns of the serious dangers of artificial intelligence for children and teenagers. According to him, the risks include mental health damage, encouragement of suicide, psychotic states, and the atrophy of critical thinking. Siegel has taken on the role of CEO of the Youth AI Safety Institute and calls for slowing development and imposing external oversight.

Tom Siegel, who served for 15 years as vice president and founder of Google's trust and safety division, warns of the serious dangers that artificial intelligence poses to children and teenagers. In an interview with Reuters, Siegel calls for an immediate slowdown in the AI race and warns that tech companies are repeating the mistakes of social media, but with more devastating consequences. According to him, the dangers include encouraging suicide and psychotic states among distressed youth, along with the phenomenon of 'cognitive offloading' – the atrophy of independent thinking and critical analysis. Siegel has taken on the role of CEO of the Youth AI Safety Institute, established by Common Sense Media and supported by Anthropic and OpenAI. The institute aims to apply standards similar to 'crash tests' in the automotive industry. Siegel demands strict age verification on ChatGPT and Claude, and a simple settings toggle in Google that would allow parents to disable AI features for their children. Tech companies reject some of the accusations and present existing control tools, but Siegel clarifies that the assumption that the industry will regulate itself is a dangerous illusion.