The new findings come after 12 per cent of teenagers aged between 13 and 17 say they have already seen people their age use artificial intelligence (AI) to create sexual images of others
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More than half of teenage children are worried about AI being used to make sexual deepfakes of them, a new poll has found.
The new findings come after 12 per cent of teenagers aged between 13 and 17 say they have already seen people their age use artificial intelligence (AI) to create sexual images of others, the UK Safer Internet Centre says.
Ahead of Safer Internet Day, the shocking findings show the worries of young people in Britain with Elon Musk's xAI under investigation by Ofcom for previously allowing sexual deepfakes to be made using its Grok chatbot.
Nearly two-thirds (65 per cent) of 2,000 parents said they were concerned about AI being used to make inappropriate pictures of their children, while 60% of eight to 17-year-olds said they were concerned about someone using AI to make inappropriate pictures of them.
Despite concerns, nearly all (97 per cent) of 2,000 young people between eight and 17 surveyed said they are using AI, and more than half (58 per cent) believed it makes their lives better.
More than two in five (41 per cent) young people said AI can provide emotional support, while more than a third (34 per cent) said explicitly that it can help with mental health and feelings.
A third of parents (33 per cent) are worried about the impact of AI on their child's cognitive and learning development, while a similar amount (35 per cent) of young people said AI has made them personally less creative.
Parents underestimated how often children said they were using AI to help with their homework (31 per cent vs 54 per cent), and half (50 per cent) of young people said they have seen others their age using AI to do their home or schoolwork for them.
National Education Union (NEU) general secretary Daniel Kebede said the findings show the extraordinary scale of AI use among young people.
While the curriculum review recognised the need for AI to appear more on the curriculum, teachers, students and parents cannot afford to wait 18 months for changes, he added.
Mr Kebede said: "Young people are already using AI at an unprecedented rate, including for their homework and studying.
"Yet the evidence is clear that the risks of AI use in education, particularly for young people's learning and development, overshadow the benefits.
"Equally concerning is the number of young people who are relying on AI for emotional support, and those worried about AI being used to create inappropriate images of them.
"These findings must serve as a clarion call for Government to act urgently to ensure that children have the information, support and resources they need to make informed, safe and ethical decisions about AI."
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of NAHT school leaders' union, said union members voted last year for the creation and distribution of non-consensual deepfakes to be criminalised, and welcomed the Government recently making this move.
"School leaders are concerned about this type of technology and its use against both children and school staff," he said.
While the movement against social media for children and phones in schools has been gathering momentum, the Government has championed the benefits of AI learning tools for schools.
The Department for Education has announced that more than 1,000 schools and colleges will be recruited to try out new technologies to aid learning, and AI tutoring is set to be available for disadvantaged students in all schools by the end of 2027.
Mr Kebede told MPs last year he had "real concerns" about the potential long-term impact of AI and cognitive decline in children.
However, the schools watchdog Ofsted has found that teachers are largely positive about the potential of AI to cut workload and support teaching.
Ofcom launched an investigation into X and its chatbot several weeks ago, and X has since said it has brought in measures to address the issues raised.
Technology secretary Liz Kendall said: "This research shows that young people are embracing AI in remarkable ways; using it to learn and save time. This is exactly how we want technology to support people of all ages. But its true benefits won't be realised until AI is both safe and accessible to everyone.
"We are investing in safe AI tutors for disadvantaged children and upskilling millions of people across the country, while launching a national conversation on how we build a safer, fairer and more empowering digital future for every child.
"We are also clear that no-one should be victim to AI being weaponised to create abhorrent explicit content without their consent. That's why we brought forward a new criminal offence to ban it."