Children’s futures and the governance of frontier AI
September 2026
We support A Call for Control of Frontier AI Models, the joint statement launched by international leaders on 21 September 2026, as an important step towards meaningful governance of the most advanced AI systems. We call for children’s rights, safety, and long-term interests to be central to taking these proposals forward.
Children have a direct stake in the decisions being made about AI today. They are growing up with systems that increasingly influence their education, relationships, and access to information, and will live with the consequences of today’s governance choices for decades to come. Their wellbeing also depends on the safety and stability of the wider world, including the essential services and institutions that support their lives.
The joint statement calls for action in three areas:
1. Company safety measures. Transparent safety protocols, mandatory testing before deployment, and independent evaluation, with sufficient access for qualified evaluators to assess risks.
2. Coordinated government oversight. Common standards, greater transparency and shared reporting of serious safety incidents, alongside access to scientific expertise and trusted evaluation across all regions.
3. International cooperation. Building on existing mechanisms and exploring an international institution to establish standards, support verification, and bring states together when AI capabilities cross specified thresholds.
We welcome these proposals and the statement’s insistence that AI remain subject to human direction, oversight, and control. Their value will depend on timely implementation, effective accountability, and the ability to respond as capabilities develop.
As this work progresses, assessments of risk and decisions about acceptable safeguards must explicitly consider children. Children’s rights and development expertise should inform standards and independent evaluations, and children themselves should have meaningful, age-appropriate opportunities to contribute to decisions affecting their futures.
We invite children’s organisations, advocates, researchers, and others working for children’s wellbeing to add their support and expertise to this effort. Their involvement can help ensure that international AI governance protects children today and safeguards the world in which they will grow up.
Read the original joint statement: A Call for Control of Frontier AI Models
Founding Signatories
Tara Steele, Founder and Executive Director, The Safe AI for Children Alliance
Elena Sinel, Founder and CEO, Teens in AI
The Rt. Hon. the Lord Knight of Weymouth, former Schools Minister
The Lord Clement-Jones CBE, LibDem Lords Spokesperson for AI and Digital; President, Ambitious About Autism
Signatories
Dr Gary Marcus, Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Neural Science, New York University
Richard Aslin, Clinical Professor at the Child Study Center, Yale University
Andrew Strait, former Head of Societal Resilience, UK AISI
Julie Inman Grant, Australian eSafety Commissioner
Ian Russell, Molly’s Dad
Dr Melissa Lunardini, Chief Clinical Officer, Help Texts
David Evan Harris, Chancellor's Public Scholar, UC Berkeley
Ricardo Vilella, Advisor, Teckids Institute Brazil
Matt Jessop, Head Teacher; Edufuturists Educational Leader of the Year 2026
Dr Catherine Knibbs, Child/Adult Psychotherapist; expert on online harm effects
Parven Kaur, Kids N Clicks; winner of the Scottish Cyber Award
Dave Ziegler, Director of Technology & AI Safety, The Human Line Project
Mark Bentley, Digital Safeguarding Expert and Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts
Allan Brooks, Program Director, The Human Line Project
Al Kingsley MBE, UK Multi Academy Trust Chair, Institute of AI Education Advisory Board Chair
Sue Atkins, Childhood & Parenting Expert, Author and Broadcaster; Founder, Navigating the Digital Jungle™
James Wilson, AI Ethicist; SAIFCA Advisory Board
Claire Roberts, Co-Founder, Full Fathom Five AI; SAIFCA Strategic Board Advisor
Tim Marple, Co-Director, Maiden Labs; SAIFCA Advisory Board
Nkiru Asika, SAIFCA Advisory Board
Michael Hobbs, Founder isAI Tech Ltd, Chair SAIFCA Advisory Group
Mel Sellick, Applied Psychologist
Dr Nicoletta Iacobacci, Founder, Ethics of Example; Research Ethics Expert, European Commission
Anil Raghuvanshi, Founder, ChildSafeNet, Nepal
Edith Utete, Co-Founder and Managing Director, Digital Wellness Africa
