Experts warn about the risks of Artificial Intelligence for children

To minimize the risks of artificial intelligence affecting children, it is not necessary to prohibit children from using it, but most importantly, to educate children to raise awareness of the risks to protect themselves in the online environment.

Ms. Dinh Thi Nhu Hoa said that applications integrating artificial intelligence (AI) are becoming increasingly popular and have a significant impact on children. (Photo: NVCC)

That is the opinion of Ms. Dinh Thi Nhu Hoa, Head of Inspection Department, Vietnam Cyberspace Emergency Response Center (VNCERT/CC), Department of Information Security, Ministry of Information and Communications with The World and Vietnam newspaper about the risks and solutions to protect children from the impacts of Artificial Intelligence.

Many risks when children depend on AI

In recent times, applications integrating artificial intelligence (AI) have become increasingly popular. Among them, children are vulnerable to AI tools. Do you have any warnings about this issue?

Nowadays, applications integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) are becoming more and more popular, shared and used by many people. Typical of these are photo editing applications, chat applications (chatbots)... However, many people have forgotten that the subjects that can be harmed by AI tools, leaving long-term consequences are children. Children of all ages can easily access AI tools, but these tools hardly require any commitment before use.

Nowadays, children have easy access to AI tools but there are almost no requirements before using them. What do you think are the risks they face?

According to statistics, the rate of children using the Internet between the ages of 12-17 is very high, accounting for 93% in urban areas and 88% in rural areas. In particular, children accessing the Internet through smartphones account for 98%.

In my opinion, there are some risks of AI affecting children. First , the risk of accessing inappropriate information. The information provided to users by AI-integrated applications such as ChatGPT is aggregated information from many sources on the Internet. Including both accurate and inaccurate information. In addition, this information is not selected, evaluated, or filtered according to the age of the user. Therefore, searches can display false information, inappropriate content, or violent content.

Second , the risk of leakage, privacy, and personal information of children. Children accidentally share personal information online, easily becoming victims of illegal data intrusion when using photo editing applications and chat applications (chatbots).

Third , enticement and enticement to participate in dangerous challenges. In fact, there have been alarming cases of underage girls consulting ChatGPT for health information and diet plans. AI can quickly provide information with detailed plans and specific advice. However, this information does not reference any real data and is just a collection of random information from the internet.

At the same time, being exposed to Chatbots from such a young age, children will mistake artificial intelligence for a true friend and act on AI advice, while this advice may include biased, inaccurate, harmful or misleading content.

Fourth, the impact on children's psychology, physiology and behavior. With the help of AI tools, users can find information on any topic with just one question. AI chatbots have made it easier to navigate information without having to open dozens of different websites and read countless articles to compile information.

Thus, too much interaction with technology machines can lead to depression, anxiety or loss of social skills due to less interaction with others. In addition, children's over-reliance on AI reduces their ability to learn and work proactively.

Children's over-reliance on AI reduces their ability to learn and work proactively. (Source: Internet)

Help children behave civilly and kindly online

What is the sustainable solution to minimize the consequences that AI tools have on children, according to you?

According to a 2022 UNICEF report, 23% of children said they sometimes accidentally see sensitive images or videos advertised online. In fact, pornographic content is everywhere, so blocking pornographic websites is not enough and ineffective. Children need a powerful, effective tool to filter online content, helping them not to be "exposed" to bad, toxic information.

To minimize the risks of AI affecting children, it is not necessary to prohibit children from using it, but most importantly, to educate them to raise their awareness to recognize the risks and protect themselves in the online environment. In my opinion, there are some principles to help children stay safe in the online environment, which are the 4T principles, which are Compliance - Intelligence - Caution and Kindness.

First, comply with the Internet usage rules set by the service provider and the school itself. Comply with the law, such as complying with the community rules of some AI applications that are not intended for children under 13 years old.

Second, equip yourself with knowledge and skills to participate in a smart network environment such as skills in providing personal information on the network environment, skills in using social networks safely, and password management to ensure safety.

Third, be careful with your online friends because there may be people pretending to approach you, be careful when accessing strange links, be careful when encountering incredibly attractive offers, be careful when providing information online including chatboxes... to minimize risks related to online fraud. Finally, be civilized and kind in the online environment, do not send or respond to messages with bad content or that are offensive to others.

How should parents act as “gatekeepers” in cyberspace for their children?

Parents can apply some technological tools to help block inappropriate information for children such as Cyberpurify kid, safe gate family, BKAV safe kid, mobile guard for kid, safe zone, ...

In addition, parents also need to set rules for their children's use of computers and network devices. The rules are different for each age group. Only let children use social networks when they are old enough to use according to the recommended community guidelines of social networking platforms.

In particular, parents should always pay close attention to the online content that their children are accessing on the internet. Equip your family with information security solutions such as anti-malware and anti-virus software, solutions to block bad information, and products to monitor and block harmful information when your children access it.

Thank you!

Vietnam and other ASEAN countries agreed to adopt the Declaration on Protecting Children from All Forms of Online Exploitation and Abuse in ASEAN in 2019, and then in 2021 adopted the Declaration on Eliminating Bullying in ASEAN, including online bullying.

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