Ai x Youth: APA’s Health Advisory
Dr. Amber reviews the American Psychological Association’s newly released advisory on the relationship between Ai and youth mental health. Importantly, the guidelines are not designed to create a polarized view of adolescent engagement with Ai- it’s simply not able to be captured in “all or nothing” thinking. Instead, the guidelines acknowledge the complexity of adolescent development. Indeed, adolescence is a long and unique developmental period for each child and all but ensures that the implications for Ai will be different and unique for each child. That said, given the emergent and quickly developing landscape of ai-based technologies, the APA advisory outlines ten areas of foci that will allow us to develop the frameworks and guidance needed to mitigate risk and amplify benefits of Ai for our youth.
Key Recommendations were as follows:
Set healthy boundaries with AI-simulated relationships
Design AI systems specifically for adolescents
Support AI for healthy development
Limit youth exposure to harmful or inaccurate content
Ensure accuracy of health information
Protect adolescent data privacy
Prevent misuse of youth likenesses
Empower parents and caregivers
Implement comprehensive AI literacy education
Fund rigorous AI research focused on adolescents
