AI needs ‘crash tests’ for kids? Ex-Google safety chief warns of ‘very severe’ harm to children

Artificial intelligence may need the equivalent of car crash testing before children are allowed to rely on it, according to Tom Siegel, a former Google trust and safety executive who has taken charge of a new research institute focused on the risks AI poses to young users.

Siegel has called for a slowdown in AI development, warning that technology companies are repeating mistakes made during the social media era while rolling out increasingly capable AI systems without adequate safeguards for children.