Raising Generation AI

Parents are using AI to remove the watermarks from school photos rather than paying for them. Fiona and Holly talk about whether that’s fair on the photographers, what actually happens to your child’s photo once it’s uploaded, and why you should never, ever put the class photo into AI. To prove school photos are worth paying for, we’ve also included one of Fiona in primary school that her brother insists makes her look like a grasshopper.

ChatGPT for Teens has been given the lowest possible rating by US charity Common Sense Media, who’ve called it an “unacceptable risk”. OpenAI says the testing doesn’t reflect how it works in practice. We also talk about the UK’s first AI teacher, who is a real human being teaching children about AI, and whether it matters if you’re rude to AI when you talk to it.

Plus this week’s parent question: are your phone and computer listening to you all the time?

Useful Links:

Claude banning accounts - https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c6j9k1l72wkgo

Claude Aug 2025 launched feature to stop abusive conversations and questions AI moral status - https://www.anthropic.com/research/end-subset-conversations

UK Gov tells staff to stop saying thank you to AI - https://tech.yahoo.com/ai/articles/uk-govt-draft-tells-staff-053100919.html

Scotland's first AI teacher - https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c6qjk9n7gge7o

Report of teachers calling for more help with AI - https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cw8r68mpm6p3o

Parents using AI to remove watermarks from school photos - https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cr5ye4p86d21o

Baader–Meinhof phenomenon - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frequency_illusion

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The music and graphics for this podcast have been created using AI. Credit to kaazoom for the catchy tune!

Both Meta and OpenAI have launched new AI products over the last couple of weeks and they've moved away from their butthole logos to cute little, fluffy creatures.

Meta’s character is called Jolly and is a little beige plushie. And OpenAI has Dots, a series of colourful fluffy animated characters. Fiona and Holly discuss if we think they might make us trust the AI more and whether that's the whole point of what the companies are trying to do.

Plus Fiona tries out ChatGPT for Teens, we've found a new AI offering from Amazon that we both actually think has potential to be fun and a reasonable use of AI - the first time that has happened. And of course we talk about OpenAI's latest blunder and the sharing of images from private ChatGPT conversations.

Useful Links:

Interactive Stories from Audible: Dracula - https://www.audible.com/about/newsroom/the-next-chapter-in-listening-new-ways-to-interact-with-stories-on-audible

ChatGPT for Teens - https://chatgpt.com/parent-resources

Spencer Kelly’s Instagram post about the real-time, interactive, AI generated sitcom - https://www.instagram.com/reel/Dd3HqCAjbg6/?stkn=MTV0MzhveW93NG14YQ==

OpenAI leaks images from private ChatGPT chats - https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/sep/25/openai-agents-leaked-53-images-chatgpt

ChatGPT Dots - https://openai.com/index/introducing-dots

Meta Muse - https://ai.meta.com/muse

Bouba-Kiki effect - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bouba/kiki_effect

AI logos look like buttholes blog post - https://velvetshark.com/ai-company-logos-that-look-like-buttholes

Training AI by proving you’re human (reCAPTCHA) - https://thehustle.co/the-genius-whos-tricking-the-world-into-doing-his-work-recaptcha

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The music and graphics for this podcast have been created using AI. Credit to kaazoom for the catchy tune!

Meta Muse and Google CC have been released in America, with both promising to help with family organisation. This is exactly what we’ve spoken about SO MANY times on the show since we started. Forget getting it to write for us or using AI to create art - this is what we’ve been asking for. So should we be excited for Google CC and Meta Muse coming to the UK?

Holly and Fiona talk through what they’re designed to do and whether parents should sign up. And although Fiona thinks AI that helps run family life will become normal one day, right now it's pretty new tech and a tool that organises your family has to know a lot about your family, so the privacy risks that come with that are still real.

Also this week: the latest on the OpenAI hacks, why Fiona's ChatGPT account decided she was a teenager, and Donald Trump wanting to rename AI as "SI".

Useful Links:

Donald Trump renames AI - https://www.instagram.com/reel/DdmRMPXD74b/?stkn=NG01cWFyOTVhcWkz

OpenAI hacks Australian Government medical data - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c6vgy0333dppo

Google CC - https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/models-and-research/google-labs/cc-expanding-to-groups

Meta Muse - https://ai.meta.com/muse

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The music and graphics for this podcast have been created using AI. Credit to kaazoom for the catchy tune!

Fiona and Holly talk to the world's first AI actor, Tilly Norwood, to find out what her advice would be to the kids that want to be actors when they grow up. We also very much acknowledge that we're fuelling the PR for the company behind the AI actor, and talk about how we actually don't think she's any good.

The conversation has moved on from "AI is going to kill all humans" to AI regulation, and what it would actually take to control the growth of AI - including whether it's all just a big scheme by the companies to hide a lack of progress towards the profit they've promised investors.

Plus Holly's been playing games with ChatGPT and quite frankly failing to get it to do what she wants.

Useful Links:

Tilly Norwood https://www.tillynorwood.com

Tilly Norwood speaking to Piers Morgan https://www.instagram.com/reel/DdbhN3RBgYT

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The music and graphics for this podcast have been created using AI. Credit to kaazoom for the catchy tune!

Fiona and Holly discuss how AI would even go about killing us, what the various theories are behind the “killer AI” announcements and what we can actually do about it as parents.

This is after a senior safety researcher working on Claude claimed that he thinks there's a greater than 10% chance that AI will kill all humans in the next decade which really didn’t help Holly’s fears about AI.

Plus we talk about how Sam Altman’s claim that our kids “will never be smarter than AI” is actually quite insulting.

We discuss the video posted by American Mum Kalie Robins after she found Meta AI suggesting to followers that they ask detailed questions about her young children.

And Fiona shares a way to block nude images on your child’s phone.

Useful Links:

Kalie Robin’s Instagram video - https://www.instagram.com/p/Dcy8LU3S7DF/

“A kid growing up today will never be smarter than AI” - Sam Altman quote https://www.businessinsider.com/sam-altman-kids-never-smarter-than-ai-chatgpt-2025-6

Anthropic researcher believes more than 10% chance AI 'could kill all humans' (BBC News) - https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckgwy1k42w4o

Jacob Coxon’s twitter/X thread about his resignation from Anthropic - https://x.com/hilbertspaess/status/2097476196791709843

Evan Hubinger’s twitter/X thread agreeing with Jacob, and making the “kill us all in the next decade” statement - https://x.com/EvanHub/status/2097497037956891126\

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The music and graphics for this podcast have been created using AI. Credit to kaazoom for the catchy tune!

ChatGPT for Teens launched over the summer so Fiona explains what it is, how it knows who is a teen, and explains why parents can’t try it out.

We also get into the new phone-free school requirements for English schools and colleges, AI slop and talk about those amazing videos filling social media from World Humanoid Robot Games.

Plus your AI parenting questions and Holly’s AI hallucinations.

Useful Links:

OpenAI makes ChatGPT less 'human' for teens in new safety update - https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czxqz91n5n8o

Keeping Children Safe in Education 2026 statutory guidance updates - https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6a9081309a177a1decf97b00/Keeping_children_safe_in_education_2026.pdf

World Humanoid Robot Games - https://www.bbc.com/news/videos/c7vgvj6e1emo

World's first patient to undergo live AI-assisted brain surgery has tumour removed - https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cjwg5n7y68xo

Snapchat joins other popular platforms in fight against 'AI slop' - https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c77g6dm5pr8o

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The music and graphics for this podcast have been created using AI. Credit to kaazoom for the catchy tune!

Meta's AI glasses and an Instagram AI feature that generated images from public photos, Holly and Fiona break down the privacy risks for parents in this AI parenting podcast.

Recorded just before Meta pulled the Instagram feature, this episode looks at privacy, ethical design in AI products, whether these features are actually needed, and the risk of everyday bullying alongside more extreme misuse. As the final episode of the season, Holly and Fiona also reflect on how it's gone.

New episodes return in September.

Topics covered:

• Instagram's AI image feature, and why it was taken down after backlash
• The privacy risk of bullying and misuse that's separate from the "worst case" concerns that got most of the coverage
• Meta's AI glasses and the privacy questions they raise
• Toy Story 5's message
• Reflections on the season and what's coming next

Useful Links:

BBC News story on Meta taking down the new Instagram feature

Explainer on Meta glasses and Kylie Jenner

Black Mirror - Nosedive (season 3, episode 1)

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The music and graphics for this podcast have been created using AI. Credit to kaazoom for the catchy tune!

Do I need to worry about my son's AI companion?

Fiona and Holly are joined by Professor Andrew McStay, director of Bangor University's Emotional AI Lab, to talk about AI companions and what's actually going on when a child forms a bond with one.

Andrew shares research showing around 80% of UK teenagers have tried an AI companion, with about 30% using one more than once a week - and explains what that means for parents, what's worth watching for, and what isn't.

Useful Links:

Professor Andrew McStay’s research on AI companions

Emotional AI Lab

Professor Andrew McStay’s website

character.ai

Replika

Nomi.ai

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The music and graphics for this podcast have been created using AI. Credit to kaazoom for the catchy tune!

The UK government has proposed banning under-16s from holding social media accounts - but does it actually protect children from AI?

Fiona and Holly are joined by child trauma psychotherapist Dr Catherine Knibbs, who isn't convinced the ban will work. They dig into what the ban is actually trying to fix, and whether removing access to named platforms touches the AI behind them - the recommendation algorithms widely described as addictive.

Covers: the UK social media ban explained, AI and addictive algorithms, will the social media ban work, what parents can actually do regardless of how the law lands.

Useful Links:

Official Government announcement

Dr Catherine Knibbs

Website

YouTube

Instagram

TikTok

Facebook

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The music and graphics for this podcast have been created using AI. Credit to kaazoom for the catchy tune!

AI-powered toys are heading for this year's Christmas tree and in toy shop aisles right now, but what are they actually doing when your toddler talks to them?

Dr Emily Goodacre joins Fiona and Holly to dig into what AI toys, like Miko, mean for a young child's development, what data they might be collecting, and why a toy can't actually manage real social play the way a person can.

Covers: AI toys and child development, data and privacy risks in smart toys, and why AI can't replace real social interaction for toddlers.

Useful Links:

Dr Emily Goodacre’s research

Pedal Hub

Mattel and OpenAI partnership

Report where AI toy went rogue

AI Toy Miko

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The music and graphics for this podcast have been created using AI. Credit to kaazoom for the catchy tune!