TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said Tuesday, June 30, that children are using artificial intelligence (AI) technology at more than three times the rate of adults.
"AI is here. It is a growing part of all of our lives. And it is already shaping childhood around the world—for better and for worse," UNICEF said, citing the latest data from 10 countries in a statement ahead of the first Global Dialogue on AI Governance, as quoted from Anadolu.
The UN agency estimates that at least 20 million children are already using AI, with more than two million more, or one in 10, saying they turn to AI for advice on a range of issues.
An estimated 13 million children say they use AI to support their learning and homework.
"Children are more exposed to AI systems—including how they are designed, their underlying business models, and how their own data is used—yet have far less power to avoid or challenge them," the statement said.
UNICEF added that children "feel the effects of weak governance first and will live with the consequences the longest."
UNICEF stated that a third of children in the 10 countries surveyed reported concerns about the use of AI to trick and deceive others or spread misinformation, while a quarter feared their images or videos being manipulated into sexually explicit deepfakes.
"Too many systems are reaching children with no guardrails—safety, seemingly, an afterthought," the agency said.
UNICEF called on all governments, the private sector, and partners to embed children's rights in global AI governance.
This includes investing in research on AI risks to children, strengthening laws against AI-assisted sexual exploitation, ensuring safe and transparent AI design, building AI literacy, and closing the digital divide.
"This is a decisive moment. The choices made about AI now will shape children's safety, privacy, well-being, and their equal access to opportunities for decades to come," the global children agency stressed.
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