Prince Harry Tells Clinton Global Initiative AI Chatbots Threaten Children's Relationships

Prince Harry returned to New York on Wednesday to caution that artificial intelligence and social media could harm children, delivering an impassioned address at the Clinton Global Initiative.

Speaking to the annual gathering of public and private sector leaders and civil organizations, the Duke of Sussex said AI chatbots present a particular danger to young people, one greater than that of social media. "The technology is more persuasive, more intimate, and more powerful," he said, calling it the "ultimate sycophant."

Harry drew a distinction between the two technologies that he said adds a sinister dimension if AI is left unregulated. "Social media learned how to capture our attention," he said. "AI is learning how to enter our relationships. It doesn't just want your attention, it wants your attachment."

The appearance was his first major public speech since last month's unexpected move back to the U.K. with his wife, Meghan Markle, and their children, Archie, 7, and Lilibet, 5. According to People, he framed his remarks as a father: "I come to this as a father, one who has shared countless conversations with other parents as they mourned the loss of their children to recklessly built technology."

Harry addressed the same gathering two years ago, when images of children whose mental health had been affected by social media appeared as cell phone lock screens behind him. In that speech he criticized platforms "designed to create addiction" that keep young people caught in "mindless, endless, numbing scrolling — being force-fed content that no child should ever be exposed to. This is not free will."

On Wednesday he was again backed by a display of lock-screen photos, and he said the number of families affected had grown dramatically. "Hundreds have become thousands," he said. "Thousands of parents grieving their children. Millions of families living with the consequences of a digital revolution that moved faster than our willingness to protect them."

He and Markle founded the Parents' Network in 2022 after meeting families whose children's mental health had been damaged by experiences on social media, in some cases to the point of suicide.

Concern over the issue has built momentum in the legal arena. Numerous states have sued Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, over inadequate protections for children. Last month, Meta agreed to pay $18 billion and strengthen child safety measures on both platforms under a landmark settlement. New York will direct its $1 billion share toward mental health services.

Harry closed by urging action before the effects of AI become clear only in hindsight. "We have spent years trying to loosen technology's grip on children's attention," he said. "We cannot wait another decade to discover what happens when technology has a grip on their relationships."