‘It could happen to any of us’ - Irish children worried about ‘dangerous’ AI deepfakes

Irish children are becoming increasingly concerned about the use of AI deepfakes, an Oireachtas meeting has heard.

A number of children’s organisations gave presentations at a meeting of the Joint Committee on Artificial Intelligence on Tuesday.

Several of them warned about the dangers AI poses to children, particularly around sexual content.

Alex Cooney, CEO of CyberSafe Kids, described AI-generated deepfakes as an “alarming issue”.

One young respondent told WebWise: “I think the threat that deepfakes and impersonation creates is extremely concerning for young people.

“It's getting so realistic that you can't tell what's real or fake anymore and it could happen to any of us.”

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Meanwhile, a 13-year-old girl stated: “Sometimes I can feel nervous when I’m on my phone. It is very easy to come across rude content that you don’t want to see.”

A number of organisations flagged AI’s inability to ban harmful content, with children often being exposed to explicit videos and graphic violence.

The Youth Advisory Panel said that many chatbots don’t have the necessary safety features to guarantee that the responses children receive are age appropriate.

As well as that, the Irish Society for the Protection of Cruelty to Children (ISPCC) described the threat of sexual extortion as “hugely concerning”, with perpetrators stealing images to cyberbully, blackmail and extort their victims via popular apps.

A number of these organisations also flagged how children are increasingly turning to AI chatbots as a form of social interaction.

The National Youth Council of Ireland published a survey which showed that one in three young people are turning to AI chatbots for social interaction.

The LBGTQ+ organisation Belong To described this practice as “dangerous”, as children can become withdrawn from social life altogether.

The Youth Advisory Panel concluded by saying that “much more can be done” to tackle the danger that AI poses to children.

The Joint Committee on Artificial Intelligence has 14 members, nine from the Dáil and five from the Seanad. It is headed by Fianna Fáil TD Malcolm Byrne.