New: SAIFCA’s Full Guide to Understanding AI Risks to Children
At the Safe AI for Children Alliance, one of the most common questions we hear is:
“Where can parents and educators learn what AI really means for children’s safety and wellbeing?”
Until recently, most available resources have focused on specific issues – such as AI deepfakes, chatbots, or data privacy – or have been written for policymakers rather than the public.
What’s been missing is a comprehensive, plain-language guide that brings all the key risks together and explains what adults can actually do.
That’s why we’ve created:
AI Risks to Children: A Guide for Parents and Educators
This free guide brings together everything adults need to know about how AI is shaping children’s lives today – and the risks that come with it. It’s written for parents, teachers, safeguarding leads, and anyone who works with or cares about children.
Why we created it
AI is now woven into almost every part of childhood: the games children play, the apps they use for learning, and the social platforms that shape their self-image.
Yet many parents and educators are still left guessing how these systems work – and how they might affect children’s development, safety, or emotional wellbeing.
The guide was developed to fill that gap.
Our aim wasn’t to overwhelm readers with technical detail, but to offer clarity, awareness, and practical steps that anyone can use.
What it covers
The guide explains how AI is changing childhood right now – from chatbots that imitate friendship to deepfakes, gaming algorithms, and education platforms that collect children’s data. It looks at both current and emerging risks, including:
- AI companions and chatbots
- Deepfakes and AI-generated sexual abuse material (CSAM)
- AI in education, gaming, and social media algorithms
- New risks such as emotion recognition, voice cloning, and personalised persuasion
- Longer-term challenges that this generation of children will inherit
Each section ends with practical advice for parents, educators, and schools, showing where adults can make a difference – and where stronger regulation is needed.
Our Aim
Our goal is to help adults see the bigger picture: that AI risks don’t exist in isolation, but often overlap in ways that can shape how children think, feel, and behave.
We also wanted to show that protecting children isn’t just about setting limits – it’s also about understanding the technology, talking openly, and building resilience together.
Above all, we hope this guide gives parents and educators a sense of confidence rather than fear.
The more we understand, the better we can guide children safely through an AI-shaped world.
Note - A shorter 'at a glance' version will follow soon for those who need the key points quickly, as well as a downloadable pdf of the full guide; we hope both will offer even more value to busy parents and educators.
🌍 Learn about SAIFCA’s campaign: The Three Non-Negotiables for Children's AI Safety