Geneva, July 01 (QNA) - The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) called for placing children's rights at the forefront of artificial intelligence governance policies.
In a statement on Wednesday, the organization warned that an entire generation has become part of a "vast global experiment", as children's use of these technologies accelerates, with evidence clearly showing how rapidly children are adopting these tools and the scale of their impact.
Children are the most vulnerable group to AI systems and will live with the consequences throughout their lives, however, most AI governance policies still overlook placing children at the center of their priorities, the statement said.
It called for increased investment in research on AI's impact on children's growth and well-being, particularly its risks, and urged stricter laws, governance frameworks, and corporate accountability to curb AI-induced exploitative practices.
The statement stressed that what matters most is ensuring that AI systems are designed with the highest standards of safety and transparency, while strengthening awareness of AI, as well as providing children and their caregivers with support to enable them to thrive in the digital environment.
This appeal comes ahead of the first-ever global dialogue on AI governance, scheduled to take place in Geneva on July 6-7.
An analysis conducted by UNICEF, based on updated data from 10 countries, estimates that at least 20 million children are now using AI, and they are outpacing adults by a wide margin, adopting the technology at a rate more than three times faster than adults. (QNA)