Google Plans To Roll Out Its AI Chatbot To Children Under 13

An anonymous reader quotes a report from the New York Times: Google plans to roll out its Gemini artificial intelligence chatbot next week for children under 13 (source paywalled; alternative source) who have parent-managed Google accounts, as tech companies vie to attract young users with A.I. products. 'Gemini Apps will soon be available for your child,' the company said in an email this week to the parent of an 8-year-old. 'That means your child will be able to use Gemini' to ask questions, get homework help and make up stories. The chatbot will be available to children whose parents useFamily Link, a Google service that enables families to set up Gmail and opt into services like YouTube for their child. To sign up for a child account, parents provide the tech company with personal data like their child's name and birth date. Gemini has specific guardrails for younger users to hinder the chatbot from producing certain unsafe content, said Karl Ryan, a Google spokesman. When a child with a Family Link account uses Gemini, he added, the company will not use that data to train its A.I.

Introducing Gemini for children could accelerate the use of chatbots among a vulnerable population as schools, colleges, companies and others grapple with the effects of popular generative A.I. technologies. Trained on huge amounts of data, these systems can produce humanlike text and realistic-looking images and videos. Google acknowledged some risks in its email to families this week, alerting parents that 'Gemini can make mistakes' and suggesting they 'help your child think critically' about the chatbot. The email also recommended parents teach their child how to fact-check Gemini's answers. And the company suggested parents remind their child that 'Gemini isn't human' and 'not to enter sensitive or personal info in Gemini.' Despite the company's efforts to filter inappropriate material, the email added, children 'may encounter content you don't want them to see.'

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