Unpacking the Goals of Common Sense Media's Youth AI Safety Institute

Unpacking the Goals of Common Sense Media's Youth AI Safety Institute

From The Tech Policy Press Podcast by Tech Policy Press

May 21, 2026 · 29 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the launch of Common Sense Media's Youth AI Safety Institute and its goals for child-safe AI.

On May 5, Common Sense Media, the nonprofit known for its entertainment and technology recommendations for parents, launched its Youth AI Safety Institute , backed by a $20 million annual budget to “define what child-safe AI actually means” and to “rigorously test AI products” and assign them ratings. The Youth Safety Institute will be led by Bruce Reed , who joined Common Sense Media as Head of AI in March 2025 after serving as President Joe Biden's White House Deputy Chief of Staff, where Politico dubbed him the "AI Whisperer" for leading Biden’s AI Executive Order and securing voluntary commitments from frontier labs. Last year, Time named him one of the 100 most influential people in AI. Reed previously worked with Common Sense as a senior tech-policy adviser from 2015 to 2020, and was a lead negotiator on the 2018 California Consumer Privacy Act. Justin Hendrix caught up with Reed about how he views the current state of AI and child safety and his goals for the Institute.

People in this episode

Host: Justin Hendrix

Guest: Bruce Reed

Topics covered

  • AI safety
  • child safety
  • technology policy
  • youth protection
  • nonprofit initiatives

Keywords

  • AI
  • child safety
  • Common Sense Media
  • Bruce Reed
  • Youth AI Safety Institute
  • technology policy
  • nonprofit

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Common Sense Media, Time, Politico, California Consumer Privacy Act

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