New Delhi, February 16 Artificial Intelligence is a double-edged sword, and the objective of governance should be to maximize the opportunities while minimizing the risks, said the government's top science advisor on Monday.
"Digital penetration has increased, and children are increasingly exposed to AI-driven platforms.
"We still do not fully understand the long-term effects of growing up with AI companions, personalized learning apps, algorithm-driven feeds, and synthetic media," Principal Scientific Adviser Ajay Kumar Sood said in the national capital.
He also noted that more evidence is needed to understand how these tools impact a child's development, mental health, and education over time.
At a session at the ongoing AI Impact Summit in the national capital, he mentioned that AI is more present in children's daily lives through learning tools, content platforms, and different models.
This creates a governance responsibility to ensure that children can benefit from AI's potential for learning and inclusion while being protected from the harms that quickly scale up in the digital environment, Sood said.
The session was on 'AI and Children: Turning Principles into Practice for Safe, Inclusive, and Empowering AI'.
"AI is a double-edged sword. The objective of governance should be to maximize the opportunities while minimizing the risks," he said, adding that on the positive side, AI can support more personalized pedagogy by helping children learn at their own pace and also provide them with timely feedback beyond classroom hours.
At the same time, Sood also flagged the need to avoid over-reliance on AI tools since they can weaken critical thinking, independent problem-solving, and learning.
"The need to embed child-specific safeguards and guardrails into the governance framework is not a choice, but it is a must.
"The future generation should not be a victim of today's technology," he said.
