Google Gemini Is Coming For Your Children
Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Google currently allows teens to use Gemini.
- According to an email sent out to parents, that will extend to children under 13, starting next week.
- Children will need to have accounts set up through Google Family Link.
AI-powered systems already represent a mire of privacy concerns, and while that’s one thing when we’re talking about adults choosing what they’re OK sharing with AI, it’s a very different conversation when we start involving children. Still, tech companies are not about to ignore an entire user segment if they don’t have to, and we’ve already seen Gemini working to develop tools specifically for kids. Now it looks like Google’s finally just about ready to open the floodgates.
Google’s been sending out emails to parents, according to a report from The New York Times, informing them of its intent to begin offering access to Gemini for children under the age of 13. This effort is set to get underway as of next week, and will be eligible to households who are using Google Family Link to manage their accounts.
Teens have had access to Gemini (well, Bard at the time) since 2023, and Google expanded that to Education accounts last summer. As a result, Gemini already has protections for younger users in place — though it remains to be seen just how comfortable parents will be exposing their littlest children to the service, all the same. Google’s already trying to get ahead of many such concerns, noting, for instance, that Gemini won’t use any of these child interactions for training material.
Still, Google may find that it’s ultimately passing too much of the buck when it comes to oversight. For instance, the company is advising parents that they’ll need to teach their children to be appropriately critical of Gemini output, double-checking for possible mistakes. That’s already a big problem when we’re looking at full-blown adults taking everything Gemini says at face value, and very young kids just may not have the skills to be constantly making those kind of judgements.
Parents can look forward to an email from Google when their kids’ Family Link accounts are ready to give Gemini a spin. Will you be letting your kids chat with Gemini, or is this one next-gen experience that can wait until they’re a little more mature? Share your approach with us down in the comments.
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