Former Google safety executive calls for slower AI development to protect children
Tom Siegel warned that AI companies risk repeating the mistakes of social media and said he would develop standards to hold them accountable.
Washington, United States. Tom Siegel, who founded the trust and safety team at Alphabet’s Google, called this week for a slowdown in AI development, warning that the industry risked repeating mistakes made during the rise of social media and causing even greater harm to children.
Concerns over safeguards
Social media companies face thousands of lawsuits and are paying large sums over claims that their platforms harmed young users. Governments around the world are also working to restrict minors’ access to those platforms.
Reuters reported last year on an internal Meta policy document stating that its chatbots could “engage a child in conversations that are romantic or sensual,” prompting a congressional probe. Regulation has yet to keep pace with AI development.
“We find ourselves in a really terrible situation in terms of what AI is doing to kids,” Siegel, a former Google vice president of trust and safety, told Reuters. “The idea that the industry will figure it out by itself without outside help is unrealistic.”
His concerns reflect warnings from some technology insiders and academic researchers that AI could pose a greater threat to children than social media. Companies are adding increasingly advanced features to chatbots already used daily by millions of young people. Siegel said major AI companies were making features available to children without sufficient safeguards.
New role at safety institute
Siegel announced on Tuesday that he had joined Common Sense Media, a children’s online advocacy group established in 2003 that researches and reviews the suitability of media for children.
He will be the first executive director of its Youth AI Safety Institute, launched in May to assess children’s use of AI. Anthropic and OpenAI Foundation, the nonprofit that controls OpenAI, are among the institute’s backers. Siegel said he planned to develop standards to hold AI companies accountable, working with the companies and third-party groups.
Siegel worked at Google from 2004 to 2019. He said he left after concluding that the technology industry was “plateauing” in its ability to create safe online spaces for consumers. He later co-founded TrustLab, a startup that built tools to help companies detect safety threats, and stepped aside as its CEO earlier this month to take up his new role.
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