A Common Sense Media study found teenagers see promise where parents see risk, that adults often misjudge how their children use AI, and that both generations want stronger safeguards.
Children and teenagers are markedly more optimistic about artificial intelligence than their parents, even as both generations call for stronger safety rules, according to a new report from Common Sense Media, a nonprofit that advocates for children’s online safety.
The report, titled “Generation AI” and released in March, drew on surveys of more than 1,200 parents and more than 1,100 children and teenagers aged 12 to 17 across the United States. It found a consistent generational split: more than half of young people said AI will help society in the near and longer term, while fewer than half of parents agreed, splitting almost evenly between those who expect benefit and those who fear harm.
The gap shows up in behavior as well as attitude. More than two-thirds of children and teenagers use AI regularly, compared with under half of parents, Common Sense Media reported. Young people were also more inclined to treat the technology as a chance to learn rather than a threat.
A divide over schoolwork
Nowhere is the split sharper than over homework. According to Business Insider, which reviewed the findings, 52 percent of parents said using AI for school assignments is “unethical and deserves consequences,” while 52 percent of young people said it is “innovative and should be encouraged.” Only about a third of youth shared their parents’ harsher view.
The disagreement matters because family conversations about AI may begin from opposite premises. Parents tend to see a shortcut around learning. Children tend to see a tool that helps them get it done.
Parents often misjudge how children use AI
The report also found that parents frequently misread what their children are doing with the technology. According to Business Insider, 23 percent of parents assumed young people mainly use AI for companionship, while just 8 percent of youth said they actually do. In practice, young people reported turning to AI most often to look up information and to help with homework.
Confidence runs higher among the young, too. Seven in 10 children and teenagers said they can tell the difference between human and AI interactions, but only about four in 10 parents believed their kids truly can, Common Sense Media found. That gap points to a familiar caution: comfort with a tool is not the same as understanding its limits. AI systems can still produce false information, biased answers and convincing mistakes.
Michael Robb, the head of research at Common Sense Media, warned that the mismatch could leave parents poorly equipped to talk with their children about AI. “I think kids are more optimistic than their parents are,” he said.
Where the generations agree
For all their differences, parents and children converge on safety and privacy. Common Sense Media found that 84 percent of parents and 76 percent of children and teenagers worry about AI misusing young people’s data, and that support for legislative safeguards held up across party lines.
They share an unease about dependence as well. More than 70 percent of parents and 60 percent of children agreed that by the time today’s kids grow up, people will be so reliant on AI that they will not be able to function without it.
That common ground may be the report’s most useful signal for families and schools. The debate need not be cast as children wanting AI and parents refusing it. Both appear to be reaching for the same thing: a safer, more responsible way to use it.
A challenge for homes, not just classrooms
The findings land as AI becomes a routine part of childhood, embedded in search tools, homework apps, chatbots, image generators and games. That reach, the report suggests, means AI education cannot rest with schools alone. Families will need to build their own habits, from checking sources and discussing privacy to recognizing AI-generated content and knowing when an adult should step in.
For parents, the more realistic goal is not to master every app before their children do, which may be hopeless, but to keep the conversation open and teach children to think carefully when a machine hands them a fast answer. “AI is the most powerful technology of our time,” said James P. Steyer, founder and chief executive of Common Sense Media. The report’s underlying message is that children and parents are not as far apart as they appear. Both want technology that is useful, safe and fair. The task now is reaching it together.
