Jeffrey Katzenberg—film producer, former DreamWorks CEO, and founding partner of tech investment firm WndrCo—is, perhaps most importantly, a dad and a grandfather.
That role prompted him to back Aura, a startup developing AI-driven tools that go far beyond standard parental controls, in 2021. Aura’s platform tracks behavioral patterns such as sleep and focus, flags mental health risks including self-harm or suicidal ideation, and gives parents visibility into kids’ social media, gaming, and AI chat activity. The AI-powered tools, which analyze language patterns, online tone, emotional expression and late-night activity, were developed in consultation with pediatric and mental health experts, including collaboration with Boston Children’s Hospital.
Speaking alongside Aura CEO Hari Ravichandran at Coins2Day’s Brainstorm Tech in Park City, Utah on Monday, Katzenberg, who sits on Aura’s board, argued that parents can’t wait for lawmakers to catch up. “The idea that we’ll see aggressive legislation [to combat online harms] in this country soon is unlikely,” he said. He likened the situation to seatbelts: their value was obvious early on, he explained, but it still took 80 years for laws to mandate them. “These things don’t happen quickly, unfortunately.”
Meanwhile, the dangers to children and families are mounting. Katzenberg cited an Aura survey of 2,500 teens ages 13 to 18, which found nearly half reported feeling depressed and a third said they struggle with social withdrawal.
Just as teenage drivers spend years preparing for the risks of the road—with learner’s permits and driver’s ed—children should also be prepared for smartphones, social media, and AI, Katzenberg said. “Most kids actually want guidance, they want help along the way, [though] they don’t want to be spied on,” he explained. “Aura is observational—it’s giving you as a parent around data and information…mostly this is about what does their digital health look like.”
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