A safe AI strategy for Canadian youth should include age-associated risks
A safe AI strategy for Canadian youth should include age-associated risks
Publish Date: 2026-06-17 09:35:00
Source Domain: theconversation.com
The federal government recently announced two policies that will shape the future of Canadian youth’s interactions with artificial intelligence: the AI for All strategy and the Safe Social Media Act.
The government says the AI for All strategy will give “access to AI training and education for all Canadians” to address Canada’s “AI adoption gap,” arguing that “adoption will drive AI’s benefits for Canadians.”
The Safe Social Media Act proposes establishing a regulator to protect youth from egregious harms posed by AI chatbots, such as “reinforcing harmful behaviours and providing unsafe responses.” It aims to maximize the safe adoption of AI by Canadian youth.
However, research on generative AI (genAI) use among youth pinpoints design features that pose age-specific risks, which must be addressed before we adopt genAI in our schools and homes.
The AI for All Strategy includes free AI literacy training via online courses, K-12 educator training, making AI chatbots available to all post-secondary students, job opportunities via funded internships and safety-focused governance of these systems.
The Safe Social Media Act introduces a framework to improve online safety. It proposes regulating AI chatbots by requiring companies to protect privacy and not promote harmful content (cyberbullying, violent, sexual or hateful content) or harmful behaviours (impersonation/deepfakes, manipulative engagement techniques or encouraging self-harm).
A student’s laptop sits on their desk at an elementary school in Toronto in January 2024.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young
Risky design features of genAI
I recently contributed as a scientific adviser to two research reports that identify risky design features of genAI.
The first is a mapping of genAI’s impact on child development that was presented by a coalition of research groups as part of the G7 summit in…
