---
title: "What Parents Must Know About AI"
date: "2026-02"
duration: "1 min 55 sec"
format: "Video interview"
host: "Mobicip"
source: "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HX5paBj3lA"
canonical_url: "https://zoltner.com/speaking/transcripts/mobicip-1-what-parents-must-know-about-ai.html"
speakers:
  - "John Zoltner, Guest"
  - "Anitha Swaminathan, Interviewer, Mobicip"
topics:
  - "AI and child safety"
  - "Parents and families"
series: "Mobicip Safer Internet Day 2026 interview series, part 1 of 8"
---

# What Parents Must Know About AI

*Mobicip interview series for Safer Internet Day 2026 · Part 1 of 8*

> **How this transcript was made.** This transcript was produced automatically in October 2026. Speech-to-text software converted the recording’s audio to text, and an AI language model then added punctuation, divided the text into turns, and proposed who was speaking from the event description and the conversation itself. It has not been checked line by line against the recording, so it may contain mistakes: misheard words, wrong names or numbers, and lines credited to the wrong speaker. The summary and key points were drafted with AI assistance from the transcript. Square brackets mark an editor’s addition or an omission. The recording is the authoritative version.

## Summary

Anitha Swaminathan of Mobicip opens the series by asking what parents and children should understand about AI, what it can offer them, and what the hidden risks are.

I say I’m not against AI and not against children using it. What I’m against is giving children free access to AI technologies with no controls.

## Key points

- Companies are responsible for building technology that keeps children safe no matter what they do with it.
- Parents need to be able to understand how their children are using AI.
- Access should be matched to a child’s age and level of maturity, so that children aren’t exposed to technologies before they’re ready.

## Transcript

The wording is as spoken, with punctuation and obvious errors corrected. See “How this transcript was made” above.

**[00:00:00] Anitha Swaminathan:** At childsafety.org your main focus is on AI awareness. So what should parents and children understand about AI? What can it offer them and what are some of the hidden risks and dangers?

**[00:00:25] John Zoltner:** Sure. I think I’m not against AI and I’m not against children using AI, but I’m very against going into use of AI, providing children free access to AI technologies without any controls. And I think both the companies have a responsibility for creating the technology in a way that keeps children safe. So that children, no matter what they do, the technology won’t behave in a way that that will damage them, that will cause violence or help other people cause violence to children. And also that parents are able to understand how their children are using it. And that the use of access or the access to AI technologies is paired with the level of both age and level of maturity of the child. So that children aren’t exposed to technologies before they’re ready to be able to use them in a way that doesn’t cause harm to themselves or to other people.