Common Sense Media launches Youth AI Safety Institute, advocating testing children's AI like testing children's pajamas

Common Sense Media has announced the launch of the Youth AI Safety Institute, calling it the world's first independent lab that will test AI chatbots and companion products used by children the way cars are crash-tested. The institute is funded by the Walton Family Foundation, Anthropic, the OpenAI Foundation, and Pinterest, among others, and will develop youth safety standards, test whether products meet them, and publish results, while also researching AI's impact on education—positioned as evaluation rather than regulation. Its survey shows that nearly three-quarters of American teens have used AI companion products, and more than half use them regularly.