I’ll very much assume you’re across the news of PM Keir Starmer’s under-16 social media ban, but what you might not be aware of is how that connects to AI. And we’re an AI podcast so I’m going to tell you.
The ban, which will arrive in Spring 2027, specifically covers websites where kids interact with other people — so things like TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat are in scope, but a tool like ChatGPT isn’t.
However, a lot of what powers social media is AI. And a lot of the issues people worry about with social media – manipulation, addictive design, and inappropriate content apply to AI tools too. The line between “social media” and “AI tool” is getting blurrier, not clearer.
What you also might not have heard is that the same announcement included an AI chatbot rule. A lot of news coverage hasn’t been clear on what this actually covers. The official wording is that “AI ‘romantic companion’ chatbots – designed to simulate sexual relationships or roleplay with users – will have to enforce a minimum age of 18”. But there’s no clear detail yet on exactly what counts as a “romantic companion” chatbot.
There’s also been some earlier signalling from the government back in February that broader chatbot regulation was coming. It’s not clear whether this is what they meant, or whether more is still on the way.
Holly and I are going to dig into the ban and its AI connection properly on the podcast on Monday 29th June.
This Monday on the podcast
Are AI toys a good idea for my toddler?
There are actual toys out there being marketed as friends for pre-schoolers. Designed to help with education and communication, these toys are powered by the same models you talk to – things like ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude.
There’s always going to be questions about what happens to the data these toys capture from your home, especially as some even have cameras. Privacy and safety aside, we talk to developmental psychologist Dr Emily Goodacre from Cambridge University who has studied how children interact with these toys and how they help, or hinder, their development.
It’s on YouTube, Spotify and Apple from Monday morning.
This weekend’s AI activity
We’ve all been in the situation where your kid needs some help with homework that might as well be written in another language. Since we were at school the methods have changed, everything has a new name and whilst we might know the answer, we don’t know enough to explain in a way that will be helpful.
Now we don’t condone using AI to get all the answers, but it can be super helpful as a parent to have it explain the method to you, so you can walk through it with your kid. So that’s what we’ve done this week.
There’s a step-by-step guide over on our blog – with a handy pdf download.
Over to you
What’s the one AI question you keep wondering about? Hit reply and send it to me. I read every reply, and your questions decide what we cover on the show.
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See you Monday,
Fiona