Former Google Safety Leader Warns AI Poses Greater Risk to Kids Than Social Media

The technology industry is repeating the mistakes of the social media era with artificial intelligence — but this time the consequences for children could be even worse, according to the executive who built Google's trust and safety team.

Tom Siegel, who founded and led trust and safety at Alphabet's Google from 2004 to 2019, this week joined Common Sense Media to direct its newly formed Youth AI Safety Institute. His move comes as millions of young people use AI chatbots daily while regulation lags far behind the technology's rapid development.

"We find ourselves in a really terrible situation in terms of what AI is doing to kids," Siegel told Reuters. "The idea that the industry will figure it out by itself without outside help is unrealistic."

Why it matters

Social media companies are already facing thousands of lawsuits and paying substantial settlements over claims they harmed young users. AI presents similar risks but with potentially deeper cognitive impacts — and the window to establish safeguards before widespread harm occurs is closing rapidly. Siegel's warning carries particular weight given his role building safety systems at one of the world's largest tech companies.

Specific risks identified

Siegel outlined severe potential harms ranging from suicide and psychosis to what researchers call "cognitive offloading" — decreased critical thinking ability caused by relying on AI to answer questions. Reuters previously reported exclusively on an internal Meta policy document stating its chatbots could "engage a child in conversations that are romantic or sensual," which triggered a congressional investigation.

Major AI companies are rolling out features to children without establishing sufficient protections, Siegel said. He pointed to immediate steps companies could take: Anthropic and OpenAI could enforce more robust age verification to prevent underage access to their chatbots, while Google could implement a toggle to turn off AI Overviews and AI Mode in its search engine, similar to existing filters for explicit content.

Building independent standards

At Common Sense Media, a nonprofit children's advocacy organization established in 2003, Siegel plans to develop independent standards for measuring AI risk — comparable to car crash testing for vehicles. The Youth AI Safety Institute, launched in May with backing from Anthropic and the OpenAI Foundation, aims to assess how children use AI and hold companies accountable.

Siegel left Google in 2019 after concluding the tech industry was "plateauing" in its ability to create safe online spaces. He co-founded TrustLab, a startup building safety threat detection tools, before stepping aside as CEO earlier this month to take his current position.

Company responses

Google responded that parents can control children's access to its search engine entirely, calling AI Search features "an incredibly useful way for kids and teens to learn, explore and make sense of information." OpenAI said it uses "account and behavioral signals" beyond self-reported age to identify underage users and continuously improves these systems. Anthropic did not respond to a request for comment.

Siegel acknowledged that companies failing to act voluntarily risk facing lawsuits and regulation that could impact their businesses more heavily than proactive safety measures. The effectiveness of his institute's work will depend partly on AI companies' willingness to collaborate — a prospect Siegel said was uncertain but likely enough for him to accept the role.

The details were first reported by Reuters.