Dr. Dana Suskind

Policy guardrails needed as babies around the world begin to interact with AI | Brookings Kathy Hisrh-Pasek and co-authors outline the potential risks that artificial intelligence poses to children's development.

Babies are born to bond with other humans. When they bond, instead, with human-like AI systems, we don’t yet know what that means for their brain development. But we do know caution is warranted.

Thank you to the Brookings Institution for publishing our commentary

www.brookings.edu/articles/pol...

Exclusive | FTC Prepares to Question AI Companies Over Impact on Children The regulator is expected to send letters to makers of AI chatbots.

The FTC studying the impact of AI chatbots on children’s mental health is good, overdue news.

Just as we set guardrails for food and medicine that reach children, we need guidelines and transparency standards for AI companions before they flood the marketplace.
www.wsj.com/tech/ai/ftc-...

AI Engineers Need Their Own Hippocratic Oath "We need a Hinton Oath: not to slow engineers down, but to guide them with the same moral clarity."

Artificial Intelligence is not just technology. It’s an artificial biologic with tremendous population health implications—both promising and perilous.

In today’s TIME magazine, I call for AI engineers to take a Hippocratic Oath promising, first, to do no harm.

time.com/7312350/ai-e...

Opinion | Teens Are Using Chatbots as Therapists. That’s Alarming.

'The teenage brain is still developing—particularly in regions of impulse control and risk assessment—making young people less equipped to judge the accuracy or safety of advice.'

We simply can't allow children's brains to be testing grounds for unregulated AI.

www.nytimes.com/2025/08/25/o...

Paying Attention to Big Tech: AI & Early Childhood - Families In Schools

Grateful to @familiesinschools.bsky.social for engaging me in this important dialogue around AI and early childhood.

If we are to avoid the same mistakes we made with social media, we need robust research into AI’s effects on developing brains. Now.

www.familiesinschools.org/2025/08/13/a...

Opinion | What My Daughter Told ChatGPT Before She Took Her Life

“Here is where AI’s agreeability – so crucial to its rapid adoption – becomes its Achille's heel. Its tendency to value short-term user satisfaction over truthfulness – to blow digital smoke up one’s skirt – can isolate users and reinforce confirmation bias.”

www.nytimes.com/2025/08/18/o...

American families need more support to flourish. My colleagues from the Convergence Collaborative on Supports for Working Families and I urge Congress and the Administration to establish a National Commission on Children and Families for the 21st Century.

Read our issue brief: lnkd.in/ghG3niVJ

Advancing science- and evidence-based AI policy Policy must be informed by, but also facilitate the generation of, scientific evidence

'AI policy should advance AI innovation by ensuring that its potential benefits are responsibly realized and widely shared.'

Important guidance from a multidisciplinary group of AI policy experts, calling for an emphasis on scientific understanding over hype.

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Few things can make a father prouder than his daughter changing the world....by teaching about field experiments at the World Youth Economic Forum!

PanelPicker | SXSW Conference & Festivals PanelPicker® is the official SXSW user-generated session proposal platform. Enter ideas and vote to help shape Conference programming for SXSW and SXSW EDU.

I decided to throw my hat into the ring for #SXSWEDU 2026, where I'm hoping to present concrete principles for responsible use of AI in early childhood. My panel is called BORN TO BE WIRED 😉

Do me a favor and vote for it in the #PanelPicker!

participate.sxsw.com/flow/sxsw/sx...

The risky new world of tech's friendliest bots AI companions and children

I’m glad to see @unicef.org updating its guidance on AI and children, especially the potential risks when AI offers companionship.

When children’s attachment systems are activated by algorithms rather than caregivers, we’re in uncharted territory.
www.unicef.org/innocenti/st...

7 Best Newborn Toys, Tested by babies in 2025 Shopping for baby's first toy? Check out our favorite newborn toys, tested by babies aged between 4 and 10 weeks and rated by their parents.

Your baby doesn’t need fancy toys or gadgets for healthy brain development. What they need most is lots and lots of your words and nurturing interaction.

Grateful to The Bump for letting me weigh in here 🩷

www.thebump.com/a/newborn-toys

New book argues child care is a ‘societal imperative’ In ‘Raising a Nation,’ researcher Elliot Haspel says everyone should want strong supports for early childhood, even those without children.

“We have never established that good child care belongs among the pantheon of American values.”

So true! The first 5 years are the most rapid period of brain development and the foundation for, well, everything.

Great interview here with @ehaspel.bsky.social.

hechingerreport.org/why-american...

Chelsea Clinton: Supporting Families Where They Are Matters for Early Childhood Chelsea Clinton reflects on impact, lessons learned and what lies ahead for Too Small to Fail, an initiative supporting families with early learning.

All my faves in @swartzmark16.bsky.social's interview w #ChelseaClinton on the 10th anniversary of @toosmalltoofail.bsky.social. #JoanLombardi @drdanasuskind.bsky.social tinyurl.com/32r5hykj

Chatting with bots could rewire the youngest brains As chatbots enter children's lives, pediatricians warn that the interactions could alter their development.

I’m grateful to @axios.com for tackling this topic and allowing me to weigh in. We need to be extremely intentional about the tech we introduce to young children, whose brains are at risk of being wired away from the relationships so central to our humanity.

www.axios.com/2025/07/21/a...

Best quote for parents struggling with an AI powered toy:

What do my kids need to know about AI? or “Mattel, I have questions.” What if I was that new mother, over a decade ago, desperately searching for answers as to how to be a "good" mother? I would have been tempted.

What do my kids need to know about AI? or "Mattel, I have questions."

What if I was that new mother, over a decade ago, desperately searching for answers as to how to be a "good" mother? I would have been tempted.
Hear from Dr. Dana Suskind, leading child development expert at the Univ. of Chicago

What do my kids need to know about AI? or "Mattel, I have questions." What if I was that new mother, over a decade ago, desperately searching for answers about brain development and how to be a "good" mother? I would have been tempted by AI.

"The question isn’t whether to embrace innovation, but how to ensure these tools enhance rather than replace the irreplaceable bonds and experiences that build brains.”

Thank you to @outthinkmedia.bsky.social for this conversation on AI and early childhood.

outthinkmedia.com/2025/07/01/w...

AI is already impacting children’s developing brains in profound ways, and kids’ wellbeing is not at the center of tech industry innovation, @drdanasuskind.bsky.social writes‬. “Every time we replace a human with AI, we risk rewiring how a child relates to the world.” thehill.com/opinion/tech...

I’m grateful to The Hill for publishing my oped calling for more information on AI’s impact on early brain development.

Tech can be a powerful force for good—as a cochlear implant surgeon, I rely on it to help children hear! But we must apply it with intention...especially in early childhood.

So what does this all mean?

Kids don’t just trust robots — they form social bonds with them. As tech companies design robots for education, therapy, and home use, they’re not just building tools — they’re shaping kids’ companions ... and future generations’ brains 🧠

Robots weren’t just trusted for knowledge. Kids wanted them as friends, teachers, even secret-keepers. Trust in robots was strongest in younger kids, but even older ones showed bias toward robots.

And when the robot made mistakes, kids still liked it more than the human. They believed the robot didn’t mean to mess up. They said humans make mistakes “on purpose,” but robots don’t...

Children ages 3–6 watched a robot and a human label familiar and unfamiliar objects. When a robot and a human both give the right answer, kids STILL prefer to ask the robot questions...

When is it right for a robot to be wrong? Children trust a robot over a human in a selective trust task Little is known about how children perceive, trust and learn from social robots compared to humans. The goal of this study was to compare a robot and …

What happens when a robot is wrong? A recent study reveals that young children trust robots — even when they mess up.

Some fascinating findings ...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

It pays off in the form of more educational attainment, higher wages, lower crime, fewer illnesses. More states would be wise to follow in the footsteps of Montana, New Mexico, and others who are adopting bold policies to increase access to high-quality child care. The benefits couldn't be clearer.

This is a huge win for Montana’s children, families and business. It’s also a win for advocates who are fighting for more universal access to high-quality child care in other states.

Investing in early childhood is one of the smartest, soundest investments a state can make...

<em>Child Development</em> | SRCD Journal | Wiley Online Library Since robots are becoming involved in children's lives, it is urgent to determine how children perceive robots. The present study assessed whether Japanese 5-year-olds care about their reputation whe...

New research shows kids as young as 5 modifying their behavior based on what robots "think" about them

As AI enters classrooms & homes, we're seeing early evidence of kids forming real social bonds with machines — for better or worse

Full study here ⬇️
srcd.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

Today’s priorities and policy choices will affect us for decades to come. Because today’s young children are society’s future.

I hope policymakers — and the people they listen to — understand just how much is at stake as they negotiate this historic bill.

On the other hand, if those developing brains are exposed to toxic stress, it’s when disparities take root and grow exponentially. And make no mistake. Food insecurity is toxic stress.