Children are adopting artificial intelligence at an unprecedented rate but safeguards designed to keep them safe are failing to keep pace, UNICEF has warned, saying a generation is effectively growing up inside a global experiment.
Ahead of the first Global Dialogue on AI Governance, the UN agency said AI is already transforming childhood around the world, creating new opportunities for learning and creativity while exposing young people to emerging risks.
“AI is here. It is a growing part of all of our lives. And it is already shaping childhood around the world – for better and for worse,” UNICEF said.
Drawing on data from 10 countries, UNICEF estimates that at least 20 million children have used AI technologies, with young people adopting the tools at rates more than three times faster than adults.
The findings suggest AI is becoming deeply embedded in children's daily lives. More than two million children, or one in 10 users, said they turn to AI for advice on issues that concern them, while an estimated 13 million use the technology to support learning and homework.
UNICEF said the rapid uptake demonstrates how quickly AI is becoming a central part of education, communication and decision-making for younger generations.
Despite the potential benefits, the organisation warned that evidence on AI's effects on children's development and wellbeing remains limited.
“While AI has potential to bring opportunities for children to learn, play, or be creative, evidence about its role in cognitive development, emotional dependency, and exposure to harm is just emerging,” UNICEF said.
“In effect, a generation is growing up inside a global experiment.”
The agency argued that children are uniquely vulnerable because they are often exposed to technologies they have little ability to understand, challenge or avoid.
Children themselves are increasingly aware of the risks associated with AI, the report found.
Around one-third of those surveyed expressed concern about AI being used to scam people, deceive users or spread misinformation. A quarter said they were worried that their images or videos could be manipulated into sexually explicit deepfakes.
UNICEF warned that many AI systems are reaching children without adequate safety measures.
“Too many systems are reaching children with no guardrails - safety, seemingly, an afterthought,” the agency said.
UNICEF said current governance frameworks are failing to prioritise children's rights even as young people become some of the most frequent users of AI technologies.
“Children are more exposed to AI systems - including how they are designed, their underlying business models, and how their own data is used - yet have far less power to avoid or challenge them,” the organisation said.
To address these concerns, UNICEF is calling on governments, technology companies and international organisations to place children's safety and wellbeing at the centre of global AI policymaking.
Its recommendations include investing in research into AI's impact on child development, strengthening laws against AI-enabled sexual exploitation and abuse, improving transparency in AI systems, boosting AI literacy among children and parents, and expanding digital infrastructure to ensure equal access to technology.
As governments around the world debate how to regulate artificial intelligence, UNICEF argues that decisions made today will shape the lives of children for decades.
“This is a decisive moment. The choices made about AI now will shape children’s safety, privacy, well-being, and their equal access to opportunities for decades to come,” the agency said.
With millions of children already relying on AI for learning, information and support, UNICEF warned that policymakers face an urgent challenge: ensuring technological innovation advances without leaving the youngest users exposed to harm.
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