Ex-Google Safety Chief Warns AI Could Harm Children More Than Social Media Did

Tom Siegel, the former vice president of trust and safety at Google and founder of the company’s trust and safety team, has warned that artificial intelligence could pose greater risks to children than social media did.

Speaking to Reuters, Siegel called for a slowdown in AI development and said the technology industry was repeating mistakes made during the rapid expansion of social media. He argued that companies are introducing increasingly capable AI systems to young users without sufficient safeguards or independent oversight.

Siegel recently joined Common Sense Media as the first executive director of its new Youth AI Safety Institute. The organization, launched in May, aims to study how children use AI and develop standards that could be used to evaluate the safety of AI products for minors. Anthropic and the OpenAI Foundation are among the institute's backers.

According to Siegel, the potential risks range from serious mental-health concerns to what researchers describe as cognitive offloading, where people increasingly rely on AI to provide answers instead of developing or using their own critical-thinking skills. He also raised concerns about more severe scenarios involving vulnerable young users.

Siegel said AI companies should introduce stronger age-verification systems to prevent children from accessing services that may not be appropriate for them. He also suggested that Google could give users clearer ways to disable AI features such as AI Overviews and AI Mode in search.

The companies have pointed to safeguards already in place. A Google spokesperson said parents can control or completely disable a child's access to its search engine and described its AI search features as useful tools for young people. OpenAI said it uses account and behavioral signals alongside self-reported age to identify underage users and continuously tests its systems to improve age assurance. Anthropic did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment.

Siegel said his new institute will focus on developing independent safety standards similar to crash testing in the automotive industry. Such assessments could provide parents, regulators and technology companies with a more consistent way to measure the risks of publicly available AI systems.

His warning adds to broader concerns from technology researchers and policymakers about the rapid development of AI. The debate now extends beyond social media regulation to questions about whether AI companies can adequately protect children while continuing to expand increasingly powerful systems.