Why I Review AI Safety Every Week
I did not begin Poodles & Friends as an AI company. I began it as a mother, a designer, a teaching assistant and someone who has spent time supporting children in schools.
During that time, I sometimes saw children watching digital content that felt creepy, confusing, poorly made or simply unsuitable for their stage of development. Some videos appeared colourful and child-friendly on the surface but contained adult references, strange undertones or messages that children might not understand. Sometimes children were watching without enough adult guidance to help them recognise what they were seeing. These experiences stayed with me.
As a designer, I am naturally sensitive to small details—colours, expressions, words, sounds, movement and the feelings they create. A tiny detail can change the meaning of an entire piece. It is a little like an artist noticing a single drop of black ink falling onto a gentle painting. Other people may see only the whole picture, but the artist immediately sees how that small mark changes everything. Children may not always be able to explain why something feels uncomfortable or confusing. That does not mean those details have no effect. This perspective shaped the way I created Poodles & Friends and Poodle Talk.
Safety Is Not Something We Review Only Once
Technology changes quickly. New guidance, regulations, research and concerns surrounding artificial intelligence continue to emerge. I am not running a large AI corporation with a department of lawyers, researchers and safety specialists. Poodles & Friends is an independent project created with care by one mother and designer.
However, being small does not mean ignoring responsibility. That is why I now complete a documented AI Safety, Governance and Risk Review every week, with assistance from AI research tools. The final decisions and responsibility remain with me as the founder. The purpose is simple: to keep learning, notice important changes and consider whether anything within Poodle Talk or Poodles & Friends needs to be improved.
What the Weekly Review Covers
Each review looks at developments relating to:
Children’s AI safety and safeguarding
UK AI policy and online safety
EU AI transparency expectations
Privacy and responsible use of AI
Education and children’s technology
Any new concerns that could affect our products
The review covers the Poodle Talk app, the Poodles & Friends website and our YouTube channel. A dated internal record is kept with the findings, risk level, overall decision and any action required. This does not mean that I claim to know everything about AI law or child development. It means I have created a regular process to help me remain informed, ask questions and respond when something relevant changes.
Poodle Talk Was Designed Differently
Poodle Talk was created as a safe AI companion for children, with wellbeing, communication support, privacy and safeguarding considered from the beginning.
It was designed with clear boundaries:
No social feed
No stranger messaging
No adult chatbot behaviour
Parent-led use
Clear information explaining that it uses AI
Dedicated privacy and safeguarding information
A Parent Corner with guidance for families
These principles were not added simply because AI safety later became a popular subject. They came from the reason I started the project in the first place. I wanted children to have access to something gentle, purposeful and designed for them—not an adult digital environment made smaller and covered with bright colours.
What Does a “Pass” Mean?
When a weekly review receives a PASS decision, it does not mean that everything is perfect or that the work of protecting children is finished. It means that, based on the developments reviewed that week, I have not identified a new legal, privacy, regulatory or safeguarding issue requiring an immediate change to our products or information. The review then begins again the following week. If something changes, I will examine it carefully and make improvements where necessary.
A Mother’s and Designer’s Responsibility
AI can offer valuable learning and communication support, but technology created for children requires particular care. Children need clear boundaries. Parents and carers need understandable information. Safety should be visible throughout the design—not hidden inside a long policy document that few people will read. I cannot predict every future development in artificial intelligence, and I do not pretend to have every answer.
What I can do is continue paying attention. I can keep learning, reviewing and documenting the decisions I make. I can look closely at the small details that others might overlook. Most importantly, I can remember why Poodles & Friends began: to create something gentle, thoughtful and genuinely suitable for children.
Children’s safety is not a statement that should be written once and forgotten. For me, it is something worth looking at again every week.
— L C
Creator of Poodles & Friends
Illustration of Poodles & Friends founder Louise Chung carefully sculpting a poodle while symbols of AI safety, privacy, communication and children’s wellbeing surround her.
Poodles & Friends Weekly AI Safety Review for 28 July 2026, showing the products reviewed, safeguards in place, findings and final PASS decision.
Poodles & Friends founder Louise Chung imagining Poodle Talk, children’s worksheets, classroom posters, storybooks, music and poodle products.
