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Ex-Google safety chief warns AI could harm children more than social media did

  • On Tuesday, former Google trust and safety vice president Tom Siegel announced he joined the Youth AI Safety Institute as its first executive director. Common Sense Media, established in 2003, launched the non-profit to assess children's AI use.
  • Siegel previously led Google's trust and safety team from 2004 to 2019, departing after concluding the industry was "plateauing" in its ability to create safe online spaces. He then co-founded TrustLab, a startup focused on detecting safety threats.
  • Warning that AI poses deeper threats to children than social media, Siegel suggested the industry faces "very, very severe scenarios of harm," including suicide, psychosis, and cognitive offloading. He criticized major companies for rolling out features without sufficient guardrails.
  • Developing independent safety standards for AI firms is the institute's top priority, Siegel said. Backed by Anthropic and OpenAI Foundation, he aims to measure risks through methods similar to vehicle crash testing.
  • Companies failing to act risk future regulation and lawsuits, Siegel added. OpenAI stated it uses "account and behavioral signals" to identify underage users, while Google noted parents can disable search access entirely.
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Lean Right

A former executive who oversaw safety at Google has warned that artificial intelligence (AI) could pose a greater risk to children and adolescents than social media. Tom Segal, former Google Vice President of Trust and Safety, made these remarks in an interview with Reuters on the 22nd (local time) as he took office as the first executive director of the Youth AI Safety Lab, established by the civic group Common Sense Media. Director Segal

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(San Francisco = Yonhap News) Correspondent Kwon Young-jeon = A former executive who led Google's safety team [said that] artificial intelligence (AI) is more... to children and adolescents than social networking services (SNS)...

·Seoul, Korea (the Republic of)
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Center

"We are in a really terrible situation with regard to the impact that AI is having on children," Tom Siegel told Reuters.

Lean Left

AI can do more harm to children than social networks — Google security researcher <p>Tom Siegel warned that AI could hurt children more than social networks. He called for stronger external control over the industry</p>.

·Kyiv, Ukraine
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My NBC 15 broke the news on Monday, September 21, 2026.
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