The Dark Sides of Synthetic and Automated Life

The chapter explores a variety of harmful experiences with AI through the lens of actual incidents—an alleged harm or near-harm event where AI systems are implicated—which are affecting or have already affected children. AI incidents involve immediate harmful consequences to children’s rights, well-being and opportunities that will likely have incremental effects in the long run. The former result from bullying or cybercrimes perpetrated through the use of deepfakes, disinformation exposure, misleading health advice, violations of privacy and other fundamental rights. Longer-term consequences range from the environmental costs of AI infrastructures to deepening social inequalities. We will also highlight some of the concerns children themselves have voiced about the use of AI, both in the Children’s Manifesto for the Future of AI (2025) as well as in the individual interviews conducted among the young Estonian and Italian GenAI users. We argue that the implementation of AI tools designed for or used by children need not only careful attention, but also trustworthy safeguards.