Warning to Families from Experts: Is It Safe to Upload Children's Photos to Artificial Intelligence
Following the use of artificial intelligence tools by some parents to remove watermarks from school photos, experts have called for caution regarding the sharing and storing of children's images.
Experts are urging parents to be cautious about uploading children's photos to artificial intelligence tools. This warning follows the use of AI by some parents to remove watermarks from school photos in order to avoid paying fees.
While stating that artificial intelligence can provide benefits, experts advise families to check how platforms process uploaded images and whether these photos are used to train AI models.
George Martin, a safety and data protection consultant at the South West Grid for Learning, warned that parents often have limited visibility into what happens to these images after they are uploaded. Martin noted that metadata in photos can reveal information such as where the photo was taken or the child's school.
David Ellis from the University of Bath and Dr. Simon Thorne from the Cardiff School of Technologies also warned against uploading personally identifiable photos due to risks related to data storage, leaks, and model training.
Experts recommend checking platform privacy settings, avoiding images that show school uniforms or locations, and removing metadata whenever possible.