Artificial intelligence is no longer a novelty. It is in the apps students use for schoolwork, the platforms they engage with socially and the devices they carry with them every day. Safeguards on the technology have not been as swift.
Katie Adkins/AP
California has long been a leader when it comes to protecting children. We regulate what kids see on television, restrict advertising to minors, protect their data in schools and set standards for the products they use. But when it comes to artificial intelligence, there are virtually no rules in place to shield children or give parents the tools they need to monitor and control their kids’ use.
In just a few years, AI has moved from a novelty to a daily presence in the lives of young people. It’s embedded in the apps students use for schoolwork, the platforms they engage with socially and the devices they carry with them every day. These AI tools can write, code and create in ways that would have once seemed unimaginable — and their adoption has been unprecedented.
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Today, roughly 62% of U.S. adults interact with AI weekly, whether at work or at home, according to a Pew Research Center survey. Children are adopting AI even faster. Nearly two-thirds of U.S. teens surveyed by Pew reported using AI chatbots. More than 80% of high school students will be using AI for schoolwork by mid-2025, according to research by the College Board. But while AI capabilities have advanced at breakneck speed, the rules and safeguards meant to protect children have failed to keep up.
In California, there are still no consistent standards to ensure that AI systems interacting with kids are safe or to empower parents to help manage their children’s use of the technology.
Already, families are beginning to navigate the challenges raised by rapidly advancing AI technologies. While there’s a lack of research on the impacts of AI chatbots on kids, some existing studies highlight how exposure to sensitive, explicit or intimate content might impact young people. These concerns underscore why parents need greater transparency and more effective tools to help guide and support their children’s use of AI. Parents and educators are already being asked to navigate this new reality without the tools they need, and children are being exposed to risks that were never contemplated when existing laws were written.
For the communities we represent, this is not an abstract policy debate. Parents everywhere are already trying to keep their children safe in a digital world that moves faster than most families, schools and churches can respond. Too often, new technologies are introduced into our neighborhoods without adequate safeguards, transparency or accountability — leaving our communities to absorb the risks after the harm has already been done. California should not wait for another generation of children to become the testing ground for powerful tools that were not designed with their safety, dignity or future in mind. This is where the state has an opportunity and a responsibility to lead.
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That is why we are proud to be part of the Parents and Kids Safe AI Coalition, a broad alliance of parents, educators, civil rights organizations, community and technology leaders working together to establish the strongest child AI safety protections in the nation. Our coalition has come together around a clear set of principles that should form the foundation of state law. These include requiring AI companies to use age estimation technology to distinguish between adults and children so appropriate protections can be applied, a prohibition on the sale of minors’ personal data without parental consent, a ban on targeted advertising to kids and the requirement that AI companies undergo annual independent audits on child safety protocols.
These ideas reflect a basic principle: If your technology is being used by children, you have a responsibility to design it with their safety in mind.
Importantly, these protections are not designed to thwart innovation — they are about guiding it responsibly. Clear rules create certainty for companies, build trust with families and ensure that new technologies can continue to evolve in ways that benefit everyone.
The question before us is whether we will put guardrails in place now or allow AI to become a permanent part of children’s lives without meaningful protections.
California has led before on data privacy, consumer protection and emerging technologies. Once again, the state has a chance to set the national standard.
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Guest opinions in Open Forum and Insight are produced by writers with expertise, personal experience or original insights on a subject of interest to our readers. Their views do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Chronicle editorial board, which is committed to providing a diversity of ideas to our readership.
AI will continue to shape how the next generation learns, communicates and accesses opportunity. Parents should not have to live in a constant state of uncertainty about whether the tools their children are using are safe. And children should not be treated as a data source or a testing ground for powerful technologies. We can support innovation and protect kids at the same time. In fact, we must.
California lawmakers should act now to pass strong, enforceable legislation rooted in these principles. That’s how California leads — by protecting kids and setting the rules for responsible innovation.
Jacob Sandoval is the state director of California LULAC, and the Rev. Tecoy Porter Sr. is president and executive director of National Action Network Sacramento.