Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the potential risk of the widespread use of artificial intelligence systems on children.

The Government takes the safety of children extremely seriously. We recognise the potential risks that AI systems pose, and that is why strong protections already apply. Under the Online Safety Act, in-scope AI services must assess the risk of harm to users from illegal content on their services and implement measures to manage and mitigate this risk. Where services are likely to be accessed by children, they will be required to take action to protect them from harmful content. In‑scope AI services must assess and mitigate the risk of illegal content, including AI‑generated material.

Government has been clear that it will continue to take further action where required. We have introduced new offences in the Crime and Policing Bill to criminalise AI tools designed to generate child sexual abuse material. Additionally, the Secretary of State has confirmed in Parliament that the government is exploring how emerging services, such as AI chatbots, interact with the Online Safety Act and what further measures may be required.