07/08/2025

How Common Sense Media is Fighting for Kids in the Age of AI

Several trends have helped to fuel the group’s success

Artificial intelligence (AI) is already changing young people’s lives. Students are generating essays with a few clicks. Young people are becoming entangled in emotionally-manipulative relationships with chatbots. Seven out of 10 teens have used a generative AI tool — systems that can amplify bias and misinformation. Parents and teachers cannot keep up.

Common Sense Media is stepping in to help. Since 2003, the nonprofit has successfully advocated for young people through huge shifts in media from TV and video games to social media, earning the trust of parents and educators along the way. The group says that each year more than 150 million people worldwide use its detailed entertainment and tech ratings and reviews that help parents and caregivers make informed choices about what media kids should consume. Its classroom curriculum and reports on kids’ media use have made the group an influential and authoritative resource in education and academic circles. It has become a powerful voice for state-level policy change.

"We're really three nonprofits rolled into one," said Jim Steyer, Common Sense Media's co-CEO and founder. "We rate, educate and advocate."

Please select this link to read the complete article from The Chronicle of Philanthropy.