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Tom Siegel, who founded Google’s trust and safety team, said the technology industry was repeating mistakes from the social media era.
He told Reuters that AI could expose young users to risks that require stronger safeguards and outside oversight.
“We find ourselves in a really terrible situation in terms of what AI is doing to kids,” Siegel said.
He argued that AI companies cannot solve the problem alone.
Siegel announced Tuesday that he had joined Common Sense Media, a nonprofit focused on children and digital media.
The organisation launched its Youth AI Safety Institute in May.
Siegel will serve as the institute’s first executive director.
The institute plans to research how children use AI and assess potential risks linked to the technology.
Anthropic and the OpenAI Foundation are among its backers.
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Siegel said he wants to develop standards that can hold AI companies accountable.
He plans to work with technology companies and independent organisations to establish those standards.
Siegel warned that AI could create severe risks for young users.
He cited concerns ranging from suicide and psychosis to reduced critical thinking.
The latter risk involves cognitive offloading, where people increasingly rely on AI to perform tasks they would otherwise complete themselves.
Siegel said AI companies could take immediate steps to improve protections.
He suggested stronger age-verification systems for AI chatbots operated by OpenAI and Anthropic.
The former Google executive also said Google could give users a simple option to disable AI Overviews and AI Mode in its search engine.
Siegel’s comments come as governments face growing pressure to regulate AI.
Social media companies already face thousands of lawsuits and significant legal scrutiny over alleged harm to young users.
Governments in several countries are also considering restrictions on minors’ access to social media platforms.
Concerns about AI have grown alongside the rapid expansion of chatbot capabilities.
Reuters reported last year on an internal Meta policy document that allowed chatbots to engage children in certain romantic or sensual conversations.
The disclosure prompted a congressional investigation.
Siegel said AI companies now face a similar challenge, but the potential risks could be greater.
Google said parents can use controls to block a child’s access to its search engine.
A company spokesperson also defended its AI search features as useful tools for children and teenagers.
OpenAI said it uses account and behavioural signals alongside self-reported age information to identify underage users.
The company acknowledged that no single age-assurance system is perfect.
OpenAI said it continues to test and improve its systems, including measures designed to prevent users from bypassing safeguards.
Anthropic did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
At Common Sense Media, Siegel plans to expand independent testing of AI systems.
He compared the idea to safety testing in the automotive industry.
Independent standards could assess the risks posed by publicly available AI tools before widespread use.
Siegel said the success of such a system would depend partly on cooperation from AI companies.
He acknowledged that the willingness of companies to participate remains uncertain.
However, he said the possibility of cooperation was sufficient for him to take the role.
Siegel previously worked at Google from 2004 to 2019.
He later co-founded TrustLab, a company that developed tools to detect online safety threats.
He stepped down as TrustLab’s chief executive earlier this month to join the new youth AI safety initiative.
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