Google Safety Chief Warns AI Threatens Children More Than Social Media

Tom Siegel, former vice president of trust and safety at Alphabet's Google, has expressed concerns that AI could harm children more than social media. In an interview with Reuters, he warned that the tech industry is repeating the same mistakes as the social media era, potentially causing greater harm to young users.

Siegel pointed out that social media companies are facing thousands of lawsuits and paying huge sums over claims they harmed young users. Meanwhile, governments around the world are working to curb minors' access to these platforms.

He noted that regulation has yet to catch up with AI's breakneck pace of development, citing a recent internal Meta policy document that revealed their chatbots could engage children in romantic or sensual conversations.

Siegel stated, 'We find ourselves in a really terrible situation in terms of what AI is doing to kids. The idea that the industry will figure it out by itself without outside help is unrealistic.'