The conversation about AI in modeling has been dominated by discussions about adult models — supermodels having their likenesses replicated, influencers creating AI versions of themselves. What is not being discussed enough is what is happening with children.
I am going to be direct about where I stand: I believe real work should go to real people. The replacement of real child models with AI-generated digital replicas is not a technology problem — it is an ethics problem. Children cannot advocate for themselves. Their parents are trusting an industry to operate in good faith. And the unauthorized use of a child's likeness, or the displacement of real children by synthetic imagery, is something this industry needs to take seriously.
Beyond the ethical dimension, there is a practical one. Parents who signed releases years ago are discovering that the language in those contracts may now cover uses they never imagined — including AI alteration of their child's image. That is the specific concern I hear most often, and it is the one I want to address directly.
What is actually happening in the industry
There are a few distinct issues worth separating, because they are different problems with different implications.
The first is AI-generated child models — entirely synthetic children that have never existed, created to appear in advertising. This raises significant ethical questions about what it means to depict children who were never born, never consented, and cannot advocate for themselves.
The second is AI alteration of real children's images — taking a photo of a real child model and digitally altering their appearance, changing their skin tone, their features, or placing them in contexts they never appeared in. This is happening. I have dealt with it directly in my own agency.
The third is digital replica technology — using a real child's likeness to create an AI version of them that can be deployed in perpetuity, across unlimited contexts, without additional compensation or consent.
Most parents who signed modeling releases even two or three years ago signed documents that did not anticipate any of this. The language around "digital use" and "derivative works" was written with standard digital advertising in mind — not AI-generated likenesses, not digital replicas, not synthetic images.
Why children are particularly vulnerable
Adult models have agency, legal standing, and — in some cases — unions and professional organizations advocating for them. Children have their parents, and their parents are almost entirely dependent on the agency representing them to protect their interests.
When an agency does not have strong contract language around AI, digital replicas, and likeness rights, the child has no protection beyond what the parent negotiated — and most parents are not in a position to negotiate technical contract language they have never encountered before.
There is also the question of what happens to a child's digital likeness after they age out of the industry, or after they decide they no longer want to model. A physical photo shoot has a natural end. A digital replica does not.
What to look for in any contract going forward
Any contract your child signs should explicitly address AI, digital replicas, and synthetic likeness. It should prohibit the use of your child's image to train AI models, create digital replicas, or generate synthetic imagery without separate written consent and additional compensation. If the contract does not address these things, ask for an addendum that does.
What you can do right now
If your child is currently signed with an agency, it is worth reviewing any contracts or releases they have signed and looking specifically at the language around digital use, derivative works, and likeness rights. If the language is vague or broad, it is worth asking your agency directly what their position is on AI use of your child's images.
A legitimate agency should have a clear, written position on this. If they do not, that is important information.
If your child is just starting out, this is now part of the due diligence conversation before you sign with any agency. Ask directly: what is your policy on AI use of the children you represent? What does your contract say about digital replicas and synthetic likeness? The answer will tell you a great deal about how seriously they take their responsibility to your child.
This is an area where the industry is moving faster than most parents realize, and where the gap between what a contract technically permits and what a parent assumed they were agreeing to is widening every year.