Grandparents use AI to generate images of grandkids; millennial parents worry about privacy
Older relatives are uploading children's photos to AI generators for personalized gifts, while younger parents fret over consent and long-term risks.
What to know
- Grandparents widely use AI generators like Grok to create custom images of grandchildren—holiday scenes, family portraits, personalized gifts—viewing it as harmless fun and a way to bond with distant family.
- Millennial parents oppose the practice, citing privacy concerns, lack of consent, and fears that AI companies could misuse children's faces for abuse material or data extraction.
- The trend normalizes sharing children's images with AI, creating a 'chain reaction' effect where more people adopt the behavior without fully understanding the long-term risks.
- Lawmakers and child safety advocates are moving to regulate AI access for minors; xAI faces a lawsuit over misuse of children's images in its generators.
The dispute Whether the article's framing of a generational divide over AI image generation reflects a real, widespread phenomenon or is an exaggerated cultural narrative. · positions read across 16 posts and comments
Older relatives casually share children's photos with AI without understanding privacy risks or respecting parents' wishes.
-
“My MiL cried when nobody sent her photos of her newborn great grandson… She threw an absolute fit.”
Beneficial_Tip_475 · Reddit ↗
Boomers are generally gullible about technology and have poor digital literacy despite claiming expertise.
-
“Boomers used to say video games would brain wash out generation… They literally let Facebook, AI, amd fox News don this to themselves.”
BeenDragonn · Reddit ↗
Such articles exaggerate generational conflicts and are not reflective of actual boomer behavior.
-
“Nah... makes you wonder how gullible people are that believe these kind of articles! The answer is VERY!”
DogPlane3425 · Reddit ↗
“It's this effect of, well if they're doing it, then we can do it as well, and then it becomes a chain reaction of everyone else is kind of doing it.”
Ben Metcalfe, Gen Z AI governance worker · Business Insider ↗
Ben Metcalfe Gen Z AI governance workerJen 32-year-old millennial motherxAI AI company behind Grok chatbotGrandparents and older relatives Uploaders of children's images to AI generatorsEuropean lawmakers Regulatory bodies
How it unfolded 2 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump articlespostscomments
-
2
Reddit commenters share personal experiences of generational tech conflicts
Reddit users respond with stories of their own in-laws and boomer relatives misusing images and technology. Comments describe conflicts over photo sharing policies, missteps with AI-generated content, and broader generational frustration over how older relatives approach digital platforms and tools.
“My MiL cried when nobody sent her photos of her newborn great grandson… She threw an absolute fit.”
— Beneficial_Tip_475 -
100%. My MiL cried when nobody sent her photos of her newborn great grandson. Our millennial son and daughter-in-law had a strict, “we don’t want photos on socials” rule. The only reason MiL wanted a photo was so she could race to boomer Facebook and show off to the random collection of “friends” she has, so she was embargoed on photos. She threw…
2 more of the top 3 · 15 posts in this stretch
-
L
A growing trend of grandparents using generative AI to create photos and illustrations of their grandchildren is creating a 'digital generational gap.' Parents are increasingly vocal about the lack of consent and the eerie nature of AI-generated depictions of their children. - https://www. gadgetreview.com/grandmaslop-g…
-
My boomer dad is a type 2 diabetic and fell for a bogus dietary supplement on Facebook from an AI ad of Dr Oz, RFK and Dr. Phil talking about how said product would literally cure your diabetes. He cried when he told my brother and I that nothing in his levels changed, his doctor was upset with him for not speaking with him first, and the product…
-
-
1
Business Insider publishes story on generational divide over AI family photos
Business Insider reports on the growing practice of grandparents and older relatives uploading children's photos to AI generators to create custom images, and the privacy concerns this raises among millennial parents. The story features examples including Ben Metcalfe's grandparents displaying an AI caricature and a mother named Jen whose own mother created images of her toddlers with Grok.
“I understand that there was good intention behind doing it. At the same time, it's a major privacy concern.”
— Ben Metcalfe -
The unsettling rise of grandmAIslop https://www. businessinsider.com/grandparen ts-ai-images-grandkids-privacy-parents-2026-9?utm_source=flipboard&utm_medium=activitypub Posted into Tech @ tech-BusinessInsider
-
What people are saying 12 voices from 1 site · best of 16 · verbatim
- Sep 22
-
My mom used AI on a photo of her holding her newborn granddaughter to make it look like she was in a hospital gown and had just given birth.
-
How would someone get started in the industry then? I imagine those cheep commissions were how people could work their way up. Do they instantly have to be good enough to command 1k/page? Or do they work for years for free? And what happens in 20 years?
- Sep 21
-
Reminds me of the social engineering posts where where you put xyz for the month, day, and year you were born on.
-
just another post about millennials or gen xer’s or some other generation claiming ALL boomers do this or that. stereotyping is sooo not cool. Do better like you’re parents asked you to.
-
unless you're bashing boomers postings about how great boomers are and how many help their kids isn't allowed.
-
My dad does this. We’ll get the occasional weird image from him of my daughter and maybe myself and my wife. Just…. Why I send him photos and videos of her
-
I'm thankful that my in-laws are fairly tech illiterate, but last christmas when they were baby sitting my 2 yr old they insisted on showing me and the little one a "hilarious video" they found, it was just infants singing and dancing to christmas songs. I had to tell them I'd appreciate it if they did not share AI content with my little one
-
Nah... makes you wonder how gullible people are that believe these kind of articles! The answer is VERY!
-
At the end of the day there are two type of people, those that want kids and those that want to be parents.
-
One does not wonder. One knows. And it is not with the productive people. This is why I am on reddit during my work time.
-
Because it wasn't real to them in the 90s, it was like a video game, now its mandatory to live in society so they see it as 100℅ normal
-
Boomers used to say video games would brain wash out generation. Turn us into mind controlled zombies, activated by the government when needed. They literally let Facebook, AI, amd fox News don't his to themselves. They project everything