Macron Calls for AI Ban Where It Threatens Children's Health

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday that artificial intelligence must be banned wherever it poses a risk to children's mental health or brain development. He made the remarks in an interview with Les Echos, published on the eve of a charter adoption at the Paris Peace Forum.

Macron also reiterated his support for banning certain social networks for users under 15 in France. He argued that AI should not operate like the Wild West and must be prohibited when it is harmful.

“If there is a risk for children with certain uses of AI, then it must be banned.”

An expert committee is scheduled to present recommendations on Tuesday regarding protection against AI. The topic is described as less explored than the impact of social networks.

Research laboratories will commit to a charter involving independent evaluations of generative AI systems and access to model data before products reach children. US companies OpenAI and Anthropic are expected to join the initiative, according to the Elysee.

The charter aims to inform national and European legislative debates. Companies will accept a pre-audit and pre-certification principle with prior model review.

Macron said Europe will advance its own regulation and urge the United States, Canada, and others to follow. He described the effort as creating the beginnings of frontier AI regulation.

He identified three categories of danger: children, democratic security, and major national security issues. Macron also convened about 50 heads of state and government, international organisation representatives, companies, researchers, and laboratories in a videoconference on collective security risks.