Almost 20% of Irish kids are using AI for schoolwork as online safety concerns grow

New research highlights how Irish children are using AI while facing growing online risks.

The latest EU Kids Online research surveyed more than 28,000 children aged between 10 and 16 across 19 European countries, including 805 young people in Ireland.

It found that 19% of Irish respondents had used AI to help write an essay or story for school.

The same percentage said they had used AI to summarise or explain a longer piece of text.

Both figures were below the European averages of 33% and 34% respectively.

Additionally, Ireland also had one of the lowest rates of recent AI use, with 57% of Irish participants saying they hadn't used an AI tool during the previous month.

But AI isn't just being used for homework.

Across Europe, 14% of young people said they had used AI to talk about their worries or get advice, while 4% had used it to create deepfakes.

Around 41% also said they were concerned that AI could eventually become more intelligent than humans and become impossible for people to control.

The worrying side of being online

The research also found that children are regularly being exposed to disturbing content online.

Around 30% of young people across the surveyed countries said they encountered hateful messages at least once a month.

In Ireland, that figure was 15%, but it rose dramatically with age.

Violent imagery was another major concern, with 30% of Irish children saying they had encountered graphic images of people or animals being hurt.

Almost three in ten had also seen content about dangerous dares or challenges that could seriously hurt or kill someone.

A further 26% had encountered content relating to self-harm, while the same percentage had seen content about ways to lose weight.

Kids feel less safe online

The survey also found a sharp rise in the number of children who have been upset by something online.

The figure has jumped from 7% in 2020 to 23% today.

Meanwhile, just 48% of children said they feel safe online, compared with 65% in 2020.

There has also been a drop in the number of parents talking to their children about their online lives.

Only half of those surveyed said their parents talk to them about what they do online, down from 66% in 2020.

Instead, parents appear to be relying more heavily on parental controls.

The findings are being launched in Dublin during a conference on online safety, taking place as part of Ireland's presidency of the Council of the European Union.

Overall, the research shows that while AI is becoming a normal part of growing up, young people are also navigating an online world where harmful and upsetting content is becoming increasingly difficult to avoid.