Developed in response to the French G7 Presidency’s call for scientific contributions on generative AI and minors, this mapping brings together input from an international network of researchers and experts working across child development, neuroscience, psychology, education, digital safety, and AI governance. Its aim is to provide a developmentally grounded overview of how generative AI may affect children and adolescents across age groups, use contexts, and interaction patterns.
Rather than treating AI’s impacts on young people as uniformly beneficial or harmful, the mapping identifies where potential benefits and risks emerge along the same developmental continuum. It highlights how effects depend on the child’s age, the purpose of use, the design of the system, the intensity and repetition of interaction, the presence of adult mediation, and the broader educational, social, and cultural context. The work surfaces areas of emerging scientific convergence, areas of uncertainty, and priority questions requiring further evidence, structured expert review, and international coordination.
The mapping is intended as a scientific contribution to G7 discussions on generative AI and youth, supporting policy conversations that move online safety conversations toward a more precise understanding of children’s cognitive, socioemotional, relational, and developmental needs in AI-mediated environments. Its purpose is not to provide a final or exhaustive assessment, but to establish a shared evidence-informed foundation for future research, governance, product evaluation, and international cooperation.