Artificial intelligence is not something that runs in the background anymore. Nowadays it is always watching us recording what we do, trying to predict what we will do next and reacting to what we’re doing. For kids and teenagers artificial intelligence watching them has become a part of their daily life. They see it in the media in the programs they use for school on their phone apps and even when they are out in public. These systems say they are making things safer and making things easier for us and that they are helping us by knowing what we want.. Artificial intelligence also makes us wonder if this is really a good thing. We need to think about the ethical concerns of artificial intelligence. We need to know how Artificial Intelligence affects people. This is important because Artificial Intelligence is going to be a part of our lives. We should understand what Artificial Intelligence does to users before it becomes an even bigger part of society. Artificial Intelligence is already around us. It will be used more in the future.

Privacy and Data Ownership Issues

Privacy is an issue. These artificial intelligence surveillance systems gather a lot of information about people and they start doing this when people are really young. They get to know where you are, how you behave, how you feel and who you talk to. Once they have all this information they can keep it forever, share it with people or use it for things that have nothing to do with why they collected it in the first place. Artificial intelligence surveillance systems and the way they collect data is something we should be worried about. Young people are really targets because they are still trying to figure out who they are and what they are comfortable with. The information that is collected about them when they are kids or teenagers can stay with them when they become adults and it can affect their chances of getting an education, a good job and having a good social life. The thing that is really scary about intelligence is that it can make mistakes or misunderstand things and that can have a lasting impact on a young person’s online presence and that is a big problem for young people and their artificial intelligence interactions.

Lack of Transparency and Understanding

AI surveillance systems are like mystery boxes. Even the people who know a lot about AI surveillance systems have a time explaining how they make certain decisions. This is a problem for people who use these systems. The AI surveillance systems are judging them, giving them scores or putting them into categories. The young people do not know how or why the AI surveillance systems are doing this. It is not fair that the AI surveillance systems have all the power and the young people do not understand what is going on with the AI surveillance systems. When we think about Ethical Concerns Analysis this is a problem because it goes against the idea of people being in control of their own lives. Young people should be able to question decisions and fix mistakes. They cannot do that if they do not understand how systems work. The issue is that when an algorithm says someone’s behavior is “risky” or “suspicious” there is usually no way for them to say that is wrong or ask why that decision was made. Ethical Concerns Analysis is important here because it is about making sure people are treated by systems. In Ethical Concerns Analysis autonomy is a principle and this situation violates that principle of autonomy. Young people need to know how systems operate so they can make decisions and have control over their own lives, which is a basic idea, in Ethical Concerns Analysis.

Psychological Effects of Constant Monitoring

Living under watch changes the way people behave. Young people who know they are being watched all the time may hold back what they really think, avoid trying things or feel like they have to be like everyone else. This can really limit the creativity of people, stop them from expressing themselves and affect how they develop emotionally. Young people need to be able to be themselves, without feeling like they are being judged all the time and constant surveillance can make it hard for them to do that.

AI systems that are supposed to find behavior that’s not normal may mistakenly think that the normal things teenagers do to figure out who they are is a problem. This can cause teenagers to feel anxious, stressed and less sure of themselves over time. The way AI affects teenagers psychologically does not always happen but it happens slowly as young users get used to being watched by AI systems all the time. AI systems can have an impact on teenagers and the way AI systems affect teenagers can be very serious.

Bias, Discrimination, and Misinterpretation

The fairness of AI surveillance systems depends on the data they are trained with. If this data is biased then the AI surveillance systems will be biased too. For example if the data used to train the AI surveillance systems is not fair to everyone then the AI surveillance systems may pick on groups of people because of their race, gender or where they come from. We have already seen that facial recognition systems do not work well for women and people of color which is a big problem for AI surveillance systems. The AI surveillance systems are only as good as the data they are trained with so if the data is bad then the AI surveillance systems will be bad too.

For people this can mean they get treated unfairly at school in public or on the internet. We need to think about how these biased systems make things worse for some people by making things more fair. An Ethical Concerns Analysis has to look at how these biased systems are making the problems we already have even bigger instead of helping to make things more equal and that is a big problem for young people and for Ethical Concerns Analysis.

Conclusion

People who like the idea of AI surveillance say it makes us safer, stops things from happening and keeps kids safe. Safety is a deal but there are problems when AI surveillance goes from helping to controlling us. Watching everything we do does not always make a place safer. It can just make us get used to being watched all the time. AI surveillance can be a problem when it is used to control what we do of just keeping us safe.Young people need to be kept safe without being treated like they’re not trustworthy or, without being able to make their own choices. The problem is finding a way to make sure they are safe while still treating them with respect and giving them the freedom they deserve. When we look at how artificial intelligence’s affecting our lives we can see that once we start using systems to watch everything people do it is very hard to stop using them later on. Artificial intelligence has an impact and we need to think carefully about how we use it. Using intelligence to watch what young people do online is a big problem. It is not about young people not having privacy and feeling stressed. There are also issues with the system being unfair and not being open about what it does. The problems with using intelligence to watch young people are much bigger than any good things it might do.

References

[1] UNICEF, “Policy guidance on AI for children,” UNICEF, 2023. [Online].
Available: https://www.unicef.org/globalinsight/reports/policy-guidance-ai-children

[2] Electronic Frontier Foundation, “Student privacy and digital surveillance in schools,” EFF, 2024. [Online].
Available: https://www.eff.org/issues/student-privacy

[3] Brookings Institution, “The risks of AI surveillance for youth and civil liberties,” Brookings, 2024. [Online].
Available: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-risks-of-ai-surveillance/

[4] MIT Technology Review, “Why AI surveillance systems are biased and hard to regulate,” MIT Technology Review, 2025. [Online].
Available: https://www.technologyreview.com/2025/ai-surveillance-bias-regulation/

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What are the main ethical concerns of AI surveillance on young users?

The main ethical concerns include privacy invasion, lack of transparency, data misuse, bias, discrimination, and negative psychological effects. AI surveillance systems collect large amounts of data about children and teenagers, often without their full understanding or consent.

2. Why is privacy a major issue in AI surveillance for children and teenagers?

Privacy is a major issue because AI systems start collecting personal data at a very young age. This data can be stored long-term, shared with third parties, or used for purposes beyond its original intent, affecting future education, employment, and social opportunities.

3. How does AI surveillance affect the mental health of young users?

Constant monitoring can make young users feel anxious, stressed, and restricted. Knowing they are always being watched may limit self-expression, creativity, and emotional development, which are essential during childhood and adolescence.

4. What does lack of transparency in AI surveillance mean?

Lack of transparency means users do not know how AI systems make decisions, assign risk scores, or categorize behavior. This prevents young users from questioning decisions, correcting errors, or understanding how their data is being used.

5. Can AI surveillance systems be biased?

Yes, AI surveillance systems can be biased if they are trained on incomplete or unfair data. This can lead to discrimination based on race, gender, or background, especially in facial recognition and behavior-monitoring technologies.

6. Why are young users more vulnerable to AI surveillance?

Young users are more vulnerable because they are still developing their identities and decision-making skills. They often lack awareness of data privacy and cannot fully consent to surveillance, making them easy targets for long-term data collection.

7. Is AI surveillance really necessary to keep children safe?

While AI surveillance can help improve safety, excessive monitoring can cross ethical boundaries. True safety should balance protection with respect for privacy, freedom, and autonomy rather than constant control.

8. How can ethical AI surveillance be implemented for young users?

Ethical AI surveillance should include transparency, minimal data collection, strong privacy protections, bias-free algorithms, human oversight, and the ability for users to question or correct AI decisions.

9. What role do parents and schools play in AI surveillance ethics?

Parents and schools should ensure that AI tools are used responsibly, inform children about data collection, demand transparency from technology providers, and advocate for privacy-focused policies.

10. Why is ethical analysis important for AI surveillance systems?

Ethical analysis helps ensure AI systems respect human rights, fairness, and autonomy. It prevents misuse of technology and protects young users from long-term harm caused by unchecked surveillance.