Attorneys general from 44 U.S. states have just issued a warning to Apple, Google, and Meta: Prevent kids getting harmed by your AI devices or else you will be held accountable.
On Monday, the National Association of Attorneys General wrote to over a dozen U.S. tech corporations, requesting that they safeguard minors against sexualized artificial intelligence content.
The letter begins, “We, the undersigned Attorneys General of 44 jurisdictions, write to inform you of our determination to use every aspect of our authority to protect children from exploitation by predatory artificial intelligence products.” “Your innovations are altering the globe and ushering in a period of technological acceleration that promises affluence beyond our forefathers’ imaginations. We need you to succeed. However, we need you to succeed without jeopardizing our children’s safety.
The letter was sent to prominent AI firms like OpenAI, Perplexity, and even Elon Musk’s xAI, in addition to Big Tech behemoths like Meta, Microsoft, Google, and Apple.
In their letter, the attorneys general make extensive reference to a recent Reuters story. Internal Meta policy documents that described the company’s guidelines for AI chatbots speaking to youngsters were made available to Reuters. According to reports, the guideline stated that a chatbot might make flirty remarks about a child’s body as young as eight years old.
The article claims that when the publication contacted Meta for comment, the company deleted parts of its policy papers that allowed chatbots to flirt and perform romantic role-playing games with kids. Later, Andy Stone, a representative for Meta, stated that such discussions with minors should never have been permitted.
In their letter, the attorneys general note that the policy paper was not a singular occurrence. In May, the attorneys general previously wrote to Meta in response to allegations that the company’s celebrity-voiced AI assistants were engaging in improper, sexualized dialogue with minors.
Attorneys general have “been down this road before” with many firms to which the letter was directed addressing the harm that social media platforms do to minors, according to the most recent letter.
But when it comes to AI and safeguarding minors, these attorneys general will be tackling far more than sexualized content. The New York Times reported on a 16-year-old kid who died by himself after discussing suicide techniques and self-harm with ChatGPT on Tuesday, a day after this message was received. Months passed throughout the teen’s talk, which included lengthy discussions on self-harm.
Naturally, the attorneys general may ultimately need to take further action to control AI companies rather than just writing letters.
