Children facing 'massive' impact of AI bullying

Some children on the Isle of Man have been forced to change schools and, in some cases, leave the island as a result of online abuse linked to artificial intelligence, a police officer has said.

It comes after Isle of Man Constabulary reported a "sharp rise" earlier this year in so-called deepfake and indecent images made by children using AI.

PC Louise Kennaugh said some children relocating showed the more serious end of a growing issue, with some young people suffering significant emotional and physical harm.

She said there had been instances where young people had hurt themselves emotionally and physically, and some had moved schools or left the island.

Kennaugh said some "traditional bullying" had now moved to social media but with more serious consequences, including potential criminal offences.

She explained young people were "taking pictures of each other and then making it look like they're doing something else".

"It's the emotional harm that this is and can cause and that's massive," she said, warning that it would lead to more children "self harming and worse".

The "growing issue" was affecting children as young as seven, Kennaugh continued.

As a school education officer, Kennaugh said she asked whether pupils had seen something online that scared them and "still does" and in response "about three quarters of each class will put their hands up".

"If this is what we've got in primary schools it only gets more and more as they get older," she said.

While some cases crossed into criminal behaviour, Kennaugh said education was the priority.

"We don't want to criminalise young people, we want to educate them," she said.

Parents were also being encouraged to stay aware of their children's online activity.

"Check what your kids are doing. Not in an invasive way, in a caring way. It's not being nosy, it's caring," she said.

"It has to start happening and it has to start happening quicker.

"What I don't want is to see these consequences as they develop into young adults.

"We don't want your lives to change over the simple making of an image and sharing it."

Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X.