Artificial intelligence could pose greater risks to children than social media, with tech companies failing to put adequate safeguards in place, a former Google safety executive has warned.

Tom Siegel, who founded Google’s trust and safety team and spent 15 years at the company, told Reuters this week that the industry was repeating mistakes made during the rise of social media.

“We find ourselves in a really terrible situation in terms of what AI is doing to kids,” Siegel said. “The idea that the industry will figure it out by itself without outside help is unrealistic.”

He warned of “very severe scenarios of harm,” citing risks ranging from suicide and psychosis to ‘cognitive offloading’ – reduced critical thinking caused by relying on AI for answers. Companies can and should take immediate steps, including stronger age checks to prevent children from accessing chatbots, he said.

Google has insisted that its AI search features help young users learn and explore information, telling Reuters that parents can block a child’s access to its search engine entirely. However, an internal Meta policy document, exposed by the publication last year, allowed its chatbots to engage children in conversations that could be “romantic or sensual,” prompting a congressional investigation.

Major social media platforms have faced years of lawsuits over claims of harm to children and teenagers. Meta recently agreed to a $17 billion settlement with California and 28 other US states over accusations that Facebook and Instagram were deliberately designed to keep minors hooked, while denying wrongdoing. Thousands of similar cases have been filed in the US.

Governments have also moved to restrict children’s access to social media. Australia last year became the first country to require major platforms to prevent under-16s from holding accounts. About 4.7 million minors’ accounts were restricted shortly after the rules took effect.

The EU last week proposed barring children under 13 from social media and allowing those aged 13 and 14 to use only restricted accounts managed by a parent or guardian. The proposed rules would also cover AI companions and chatbots.

Siegel’s warning comes as prominent tech executives, including Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, OpenAI chief Sam Altman, xAI chief Elon Musk and Google DeepMind co-founder Demis Hassabis, have backed calls to slow the development of increasingly powerful AI systems. Anthropic researcher Evan Hubinger this month said he personally believes there is a greater than 10% chance that AI could “kill all humans” within the next decade.