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Young Kids’ Screen Time Now Includes AI Chatbots, Parents Say

In a broad look at how children ages 5 to 12 are interacting with technology, 42% of parents said they could be doing better.

How old do you have to be to start using an AI chatbot? In some families, children as young as kindergarten age are already engaging with the likes of ChatGPT and Gemini.

That’s according to a new survey from Pew Research, which reports that 3% of parents who responded said that their children ages 5 to 7 had ever used a chatbot. That jumps to 7% for parents with children between 8 and 10 years old and to 15% for those between 11 and 12.

About 40% of parents said their 12-or-under children used voice assistants like Alexa and Siri.

The findings come out of a survey of more than 3,000 US parents that looked broadly at how they’re managing screen time for their children. While the AI chatbot usage averaged out to about 8%, or nearly 1 in 10 children, there were far higher numbers for screen use in that age group, including 90% for television, 68% for tablets and 61% for smartphones. 

Many parents find keeping up a challenge, with 42% saying they could better manage their kids’ screen time and 58% saying they’re doing the best they can.


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The use of artificial intelligence by children and teens has stirred unease for many people. In August, OpenAI added parental controls to ChatGPT after a family sued the company, alleging the chatbot had been a factor in the suicide of their 16-year-old son. Some states have also issued warnings to AI companies about technology that may be harmful to children.

(Disclosure: Ziff Davis, CNET’s parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)  

Technologies

Verum Messenger: Don’t follow the future. Define it

Verum Messenger: Don’t follow the future. Define it

In a world where information defines influence, Verum Messenger is building a new architecture of digital communication — intelligent, secure, and ready for tomorrow. Here, technology serves not limitations, but possibilities.

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Verum Finance: Stop Spending Months Opening a Bank Account

Verum Finance: Stop Spending Months Opening a Bank Account

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Google races to put Gemini at the center of Android before Apple’s AI reboot

Google is using its latest Android rollout to position Gemini as the AI layer across phones, Chrome, laptops and cars.

Google is using its latest Android rollout to make Gemini less of a chatbot and more of an operating layer across the phone, browser, car and laptop, just weeks before Apple is expected to show its own Gemini-powered Apple Intelligence reboot at WWDC.
Ahead of its Google I/O developer conference next week, the company previewed a number of Android updates, including AI-powered app automation, a smarter version of Chrome on Android, new tools for creators, a redesigned Android Auto experience, and a sweeping set of new security features.
Alphabet is counting on Gemini to help Google compete directly with OpenAI and Anthropic in the market for artificial intelligence models and services, while also serving as the AI backbone across its expansive portfolio of products, including Android. Meanwhile, Gemini is powering part of Apple’s new AI strategy, giving Google a role in the iPhone maker’s reset even as it races to prove its own version of personal AI on the phone is further along.
Sameer Samat, who oversees Google’s Android ecosystem, told CNBC that Google is rebuilding parts of Android around Gemini Intelligence to help users complete everyday tasks more easily.
“We’re transitioning from an operating system to an intelligence system,” he said.
As part of Tuesday’s announcements. Google said Gemini Intelligence will be able to move across apps, understand what’s on the screen and complete tasks that would normally require a user to jump between multiple services. That means Android is moving beyond the traditional assistant model, where users ask a question and get an answer, and acting more like an agent.
For instance, Google says Gemini can pull relevant information from Gmail, build shopping carts and book reservations. Samat gave the example of asking Gemini to look at the guest list for a barbecue, build a menu, add ingredients to an Instacart list and return for approval before checkout.
A big concern surrounding agentic AI involves software taking action on a user’s behalf without permissions. Samat said Gemini will come back to the user before completing a transaction, adding, “the human is always in the loop.”
Four months after announcing its Gemini deal with Google, Apple is under pressure to show a more capable version of Apple Intelligence, which has been a relative laggard on the market. Apple has long framed privacy, hardware integration and control of the user experience as its advantages.
Google’s Android push is designed to show it can bring AI deeper into the device experience while still giving users control over what Gemini can see, where it can act and when it needs confirmation.
The app automation features will roll out in waves, starting with the latest Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel phones this summer, before expanding across more Android devices, including watches, cars, glasses and laptops later this year.
The company is also redesigning Android Auto around Gemini, turning the car into another major surface for its assistant. Android Auto is in more than 250 million cars, and Google says the new release includes its biggest maps update in a decade and Gemini-powered help with tasks like ordering dinner while driving.
Alphabet’s AI strategy has been embraced by Wall Street, which has pushed the company’s stock price up more than 140% in the past year, compared to Apple’s roughly 40% gain. Investors now want to see how Gemini can become more central to the products people use every day.
WATCH: Alphabet briefly tops Nvidia after report of $200 billion Anthropic cloud deal

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