Children, parental responsibility and informed consent in the age of artificial intelligence

Bianca Farthing, Director of AIEdify

In this article for Family Law Journal, Baljinder Bath, barrister at 4PB, and Bianca Farthing, director of AIEdify, explore how the increased use of artificial intelligence (AI) by children has become a major safeguarding concern and is raising complex questions for family lawyers.

They highlight the potential dangers of the use of AI chatbots on the cognitive development, socialization and mental health of children referencing the tragic cases of Sewell Setzer and Adam Raine in the USA and recent research by the MIT Media Lab.

Against this backdrop, they explore how the framework of the Children Act 1989 can be applied to regulate questions of welfare, consent, and parental responsibility to safeguard children.

Overall, they argue AI use by children has real-life consequences and family law practitioners should take it seriously both in a private law and public law context.