How young is too young for AI?

What the report says

The Independent Uganda, carrying a Xinhua report from Berlin, says the spread of generative artificial intelligence into classrooms and children’s online lives is prompting governments, schools and international bodies to balance protection with digital preparation. The report, published July 25, 2026, frames the issue around a growing policy debate over when children should be allowed to use AI and under what supervision.

According to the report, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres recently used the Global Dialogue on AI Governance in Geneva to call for tougher child-safety standards, warning that AI tools have reached young users before adequate safeguards were established. The article says he cited risks including deceptive machine interactions, self-harm-related content and AI-generated abuse imagery, and called for child-specific testing, independent oversight and stronger rules for systems accessible to minors.

The report highlights emerging school policies in Europe. Norway has announced guidelines that would generally bar pupils in grades one to seven from generative AI access from the autumn term, allow cautious use in grades eight to 10 after teacher preparation, and prepare upper secondary students to use the technology appropriately. France’s 2025 framework similarly permits generative AI in class from about eighth grade, but only with teacher guidance and limits.

The Independent/Xinhua report also notes concerns that AI could weaken basic learning and make it harder to verify student work. It cites Norwegian officials, the OECD’s digital education outlook and German education voices raising academic-integrity concerns. At the same time, German media education scholar Annekatrin Bock argues that AI should be taught in age-appropriate ways, since excluding it from school could leave children experimenting without guidance.