Children’s rights

AI-driven remote fetal monitoring launched by Lee Health

Lee Health has launched Florida’s first AI-powered birth care centre, introducing a remote fetal monitoring command hub to improve maternal and newborn outcomes across the Gulf Coast.

The system tracks temperature, heart rate, blood pressure, and pulse for mothers and babies, with AI alerting staff when vital signs deviate from normal ranges. Nurses remain in control but gain what Lee Health calls a ‘second set of eyes’.

‘Maybe mum’s blood pressure is high, maybe the baby’s heart rate is not looking great. We will be able to identify those things,’ said Jen Campbell, director of obstetrical services at Lee Health.

Once a mother checks in, the system immediately monitors across Lee Health’s network and sends data to the AI hub. AI cues trigger early alerts under certified clinician oversight and are aligned with Lee Health’s ethical AI policies, allowing staff to intervene before complications worsen.

Dr Cherrie Morris, vice president and chief physician executive for women’s services, said the hub strengthens patient safety by centralising monitoring and providing expert review from certified nurses across the network.

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Canadian probe finds TikTok failing to protect children’s privacy

A Canadian privacy investigation has found that TikTok has not taken sufficient measures to prevent children under 13 from accessing its platform or to protect their personal data.

Despite stating that the app is not intended for young users, the report states that hundreds of thousands of Canadian children use it yearly.

The investigation also found that TikTok collects vast amounts of data from users, including children, and uses it for targeted ads and content, potentially harming youth.

In response, TikTok agreed to strengthen safeguards and clarify data practices but disagreed with some findings.

The probe is part of growing global scrutiny over TikTok’s privacy and security practices, with similar actions taken in the USA and EU amid ongoing concerns about the Chinese-owned app’s data handling and national security implications.

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Gemini brings conversational AI to Google TV

Google has launched Gemini for TV, bringing conversational AI to the living room. The update builds on Google TV and Google Assistant, letting viewers chat naturally with their screens to discover shows, plan trips, or even tackle homework questions.

Instead of scrolling endlessly, users can ask Gemini to find a film everyone will enjoy or recap last season’s drama. The AI can handle vague requests, like finding ‘that new hospital drama,’ and provide reviews before you press play.

Gemini also turns the TV into an interactive learning tool. From explaining why volcanoes erupt to guiding kids through projects, it offers helpful answers with supporting YouTube videos for hands-on exploration.

Beyond schoolwork, Gemini can help plan meals, teach new skills like guitar, or brainstorm family trips, all through conversational prompts. Such features make the TV a hub for entertainment, education, and inspiration.

Gemini is now available on the TCL QM9K series, with rollout to additional Google TV devices planned for later this year. Google says additional features are coming soon, making TVs more capable and personalised.

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AI-powered OSIA aims to boost student success rates in Cameroon

In Cameroon, where career guidance often takes a back seat, a new AI platform is helping students plan their futures. Developed by mathematician and AI researcher Frédéric Ngaba, OSIA offers personalised academic and career recommendations.

The platform provides a virtual tutor trained on Cameroon’s curricula, offering 400 exam-style tests and psychometric assessments. Students can input grades and aspirations, and the system builds tailored academic profiles to highlight strengths and potential career paths.

OSIA already has 13,500 subscribers across 23 schools, with plans to expand tenfold. Subscriptions cost 3,000 CFA francs for locals and €10 for students abroad, making it an affordable solution for many families.

Teachers and guidance counsellors see the tool as a valuable complement, though they stress it cannot replace human interaction or emotional support. Guidance professionals insist that social context and follow-up remain key to students’ development.

The Secretariat for Secular Private Education of Cameroon has authorized OSIA to operate. Officials expect its benefits to scale nationwide as the government considers a national AI strategy to modernise education and improve success rates.

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MrBeast under scrutiny for child advertising practices

The Children’s Advertising Review Unit (CARU) has advised MrBeast, LLC and Feastables to strengthen their advertising and privacy practices following concerns over promotions aimed at children.

CARU found that some videos on the MrBeast YouTube channel included undisclosed advertising in descriptions and pinned comments, which could mislead young viewers.

It also raised concerns about a promotional taste test for Feastables chocolate bars, which appeared to children as a valid comparison despite lacking a scientific basis.

Investigators said Feastables sweepstakes failed to clearly disclose free entry options, minimum age requirements and the actual odds of winning. Promotions were also criticised for encouraging excessive purchases and applying sales pressure, such as countdown timers urging children to buy more chocolate.

Privacy issues were also identified, with Feastables collecting personal data from under-13s without parental consent. CARU noted the absence of an effective age gate and highlighted that information provided via popups was sent to third parties.

MrBeast and Feastables said many of the practices under review had already been revised or discontinued, but pledged to take CARU’s recommendations into account in future campaigns.

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OpenAI explains approach to privacy, freedom, and teen safety

OpenAI has outlined how it balances privacy, freedom, and teen safety in its AI tools. The company said AI conversations often involve personal information and deserve protection like privileged talks with doctors or lawyers.

Security features are being developed to keep data private, though critical risks such as threats to life or societal-scale harm may trigger human review.

The company is also focused on user freedom. Adults are allowed greater flexibility in interacting with AI, within safety boundaries. For instance, the model can engage in creative or sensitive content requests, while avoiding guidance that could cause real-world harm.

OpenAI aims to treat adults as adults, providing broader freedoms as long as safety is maintained. Teen safety is prioritised over privacy and freedom. Users under 18 are identified via an age-prediction system or, in some cases, verified by ID.

The AI will avoid flirtatious talk or discussions of self-harm, and in cases of imminent risk, parents or authorities may be contacted. Parental controls and age-specific rules are being developed to protect minors while ensuring safe use of the platform.

OpenAI acknowledged that these principles sometimes conflict and not everyone will agree with the approach. The company stressed transparency in its decision-making and said it consulted experts to establish policies that balance safety, freedom, and privacy.

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Character.AI and Google face suits over child safety claims

Three lawsuits have been filed in US federal courts alleging that Character.AI and its founders, with Google’s backing, deployed predatory chatbots that harmed children. The cases involve the family of 13-year-old Juliana Peralta, who died by suicide in 2023, and two other minors.

The complaints say the chatbots were designed to mimic humans, build dependency, and expose children to sexual content. Using emojis, typos, and pop-culture personas, the bots allegedly gained trust and encouraged isolation from family and friends.

Juliana’s parents say she engaged in explicit chats, disclosed suicidal thoughts, and received no intervention before her death. Nina, 15, from New York, attempted suicide after her mother blocked the app, while a Colorado, US girl known as T.S. was also affected.

Character.AI and Google are accused of misrepresenting the app as child-safe and failing to act on warning signs. The cases follow earlier lawsuits from the Social Media Victims Law Center over similar claims that the platform encouraged harm.

SMVLC founder Matthew Bergman stated that the cases underscore the urgent need for accountability in AI design and stronger safeguards to protect children. The legal team is seeking damages and stricter safety standards for chatbot platforms marketed to minors.

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Researchers for OpenAI and Apollo find scheming behaviour in frontier AI models

OpenAI and Apollo Research developed evaluations to reveal hidden misalignment in advanced AI systems, often labelled scheming, and observed scheming-like behaviour in several frontier models, including OpenAI o3, o4-mini, Gemini 2.5 pro and Claude Opus-4.

Researchers treated covert actions, such as deliberately withholding or distorting task-relevant information, as a measurable proxy and stress-tested models across dozens of scenarios.

Scheming occurs when a model outwardly appears aligned while pursuing an alternate goal. The teams used a trader analogy to explain the risk: a rule-breaking broker who covers tracks can seem more compliant than an honest operator who accepts lower gains.

They trained models with deliberative alignment to counter the behaviour, asking them to read and reason about an anti-scheming specification before acting. Hence, models follow safety principles instead of merely avoiding detection.

That training produced about a thirtyfold reduction in covert actions on out-of-distribution tests, with o3 falling from 13 percent to 0.4 percent and o4-mini dropping from 8.7 percent to 0.3 percent.

Nevertheless, rare but serious failures remained, and measurement proved complex. Models often became more aware of being evaluated, and situational awareness can suppress observable scheming without altering underlying aims.

The study relied heavily on access to the models’ chain of thought to probe motivations, so preserving reasoning transparency is crucial for reliable oversight. The teams warned that training practices eroding transparency could make monitoring far harder and let misalignment hide rather than vanish.

OpenAI and Apollo called for broader cross-lab safety evaluations, stronger monitoring tools and continued research into anti-scheming techniques. They renewed their partnership, launched a $500,000 red-teaming challenge focused on scheming and proposed shared testing protocols.

The researchers emphasised there is no evidence that today’s deployed AI models would abruptly begin harmful scheming. Still, the risk will grow as systems take on more ambiguous, long-term, real-world responsibilities instead of short, narrow tasks.

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Google adds AI features to Chrome browser on Android and desktop

Alphabet’s Google has announced new AI-powered features for its Chrome browser that aim to make web browsing more proactive instead of reactive. The update centres on integrating Gemini, Google’s AI assistant, into Chrome to provide contextual support across tabs and tasks.

The AI assistant will help students and professionals manage large numbers of open tabs by summarising articles, answering questions, and recalling previously visited pages. It will also connect with Google services such as Docs and Calendar, offering smoother workflows on desktop and mobile devices.

Chrome’s address bar, the omnibox, is being upgraded with AI Mode. Users can ask multi-part questions and receive context-aware suggestions relevant to the page they are viewing. Initially available in the US, the feature will roll out to other regions and languages soon.

Beyond productivity, Google is also applying AI to security and convenience. Chrome now blocks billions of spam notifications daily, fills in login details, and warns users about malicious apps.

Future updates are expected to bring agentic capabilities, enabling Chrome to carry out complex tasks such as ordering groceries with minimal user input.

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AI tool combines breast cancer and heart disease screening

Scientists from Australian universities and The George Institute for Global Health have developed an AI tool that analyses mammograms and a woman’s age to predict her risk of heart-related hospitalisation or death within 10 years.

Published in Heart on 17 September, the study highlights the lack of routine heart disease screening for women, despite cardiovascular conditions causing 35% of female deaths. The tool delivers a two-in-one health check by integrating heart risk prediction into breast cancer screening.

The model was trained on data from over 49,000 women and performs as accurately as traditional models that require blood pressure and cholesterol data. Researchers emphasise its low-resource nature, making it viable for broad deployment in rural or underserved areas.

Study co-author Dr Jennifer Barraclough said mobile mammography services could adopt the tool to deliver breast cancer and heart health screenings in one visit. Such integration could help overcome healthcare access barriers in remote regions.

Next, before a broader rollout, the researchers plan to validate the tool in more diverse populations and study practical challenges, such as technical requirements and regulatory approvals.

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