Google is gearing up to launch its Gemini AI chatbot for children under 13. The tech giant has begun notifying parents via email, informing them that they’ll be able to manage their child’s access to Gemini through the Family Link app. This marks the first instance of a major company offering an AI chatbot specifically for kids.
According to The New York Times, children under 13 will be able to use Gemini for tasks like homework help and story reading. Google states that kids’ interactions with Gemini won’t be used to train its AI models. However, the company warns parents that “Gemini can make mistakes” and children “may encounter content you don’t want them to see.”
Despite these concerns, Google is proceeding with the launch of Gemini AI for children. Hallucination in AI remains an unsolved issue, and chatbots often present false information with unwarranted confidence. How children under 13 will recognize and differentiate accurate responses from misleading ones is still unclear.
In addition, young users are increasingly facing challenges with AI chatbots. Recently, a teenager in Florida died by suicide after forming a deep emotional bond with an AI character on Character.ai. Many young users struggle to distinguish between AI chatbots and real people.
In its email, Google advises parents to talk to their children and help them understand that AI is not human. It also reminds parents that they can disable access to Gemini at any time through the Family Link app.
