AI Threats Affecting Children

How AI Threats Appear

For children, AI-enabled threats most commonly surface through:

• Non-consensual synthetic imagery — AI-generated explicit or exploitative images of minors, including deepfakes created from publicly available photos
• Manipulative AI interactions — Chatbots, virtual companions, or recommendation algorithms that exploit developmental vulnerabilities through emotional manipulation or addictive design
• Data collection without meaningful consent — AI systems that profile minors through educational platforms, gaming, or social media, often without parental knowledge
• Algorithmic content exposure — Recommendation systems that surface age-inappropriate, harmful, or radicalizing content to young users
• Discriminatory educational AI — Automated grading, behavioral monitoring, or learning assessment systems that disadvantage students based on demographic characteristics

Children are treated as a distinct affected group due to their legal protections, developmental vulnerability, and structural inability to provide informed consent to AI system interactions.

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Relevant AI Threat Domains

• Privacy & Surveillance — Data collection and profiling of minors across platforms
• Information Integrity — Exposure to AI-generated misinformation and manipulated content
• Discrimination & Social Harm — Biased educational and behavioral assessment systems
• Human-AI Control — Manipulative interface design targeting developmental vulnerabilities

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What to Watch For

Indicators of AI-related harm to children:

• AI systems interacting with minors without age-appropriate safeguards or parental controls
• Educational platforms using AI assessment without transparency about criteria or data use
• Social media or gaming platforms with AI recommendation systems that lack youth-specific protections
• AI-generated content targeting children that mimics trusted sources or authority figures
• Collection of biometric or behavioral data from children through school-provided devices

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Regulatory Context

• EU AI Act — Specifically identifies AI systems interacting with children as requiring heightened risk assessment
• COPPA (US) — Restricts collection of personal information from children under 13, with AI systems subject to these requirements
• UK Age Appropriate Design Code — Requires AI-powered services likely to be accessed by children to meet specific design standards
• Multiple jurisdictions are developing AI-specific protections for minors, particularly in educational and social media contexts

For classification rules and evidence standards, refer to the Methodology.