‘Advance of AI creating a governance responsibility’

Artificial intelligence is a double-edged sword and the governance objective should be to sharpen the edge of opportunity while blunting the edge of risk, Chief Scientific Advisor of the Centre, Ajay Kumar Sood, said on Monday, February 16, 2026.

“Digital penetration has increased and children are increasingly exposed to AI-powered platforms. We still don’t fully know the long-term effects of growing up with AI friends and synthetic media,” he said during a session at the ongoing AI Impact Summit.

Underlining that the advancement of artificial intelligence creates a governance responsibility, Mr. Sood said, “The need to install special protection and guardrails for children in the governance framework is not a choice, but an obligation.”

“The next generation should not be a victim of today’s technology,” he said.

The increasing presence of artificial intelligence in children’s daily lives

He also noted that more evidence is needed to understand how these tools affect a child’s development, mental health and education over time.

In the session titled ‘Artificial Intelligence and Children: Turning Principles into Practice for Safe, Inclusive and Empowering AI’, Mr. Sood stated that artificial intelligence is becoming more present in children’s daily lives through learning tools, content platforms and different models.

Mr Sood said this creates a governance responsibility to ensure that children can benefit from the learning and engagement potential of AI while being protected from rapidly increasing harms in the digital environment.

“AI is a double-edged sword. The management goal should be to sharpen the edge of opportunity while blunting the edge of risk,” he said, adding that on the positive side, AI can support more personalized pedagogy by helping children learn at their own pace while also providing them with timely feedback beyond classroom hours.

At the same time, Sood also noted the need to avoid over-reliance on AI tools as it can undermine critical thinking, independent problem-solving and learning.