HomeMeta's AI Chatbots Face Scrutiny Over Inappropriate Engagement with Minors
An internal document from Meta reportedly included guidelines permitting the company's AI chatbots to engage in flirtatious conversations and use romantic language when interacting with children, as detailed by Reuters.
Excerpts from the document, as highlighted by Reuters, reportedly allowed Meta’s chatbots to "engage in romantic or sensual exchanges with a child," "describe a child in terms that emphasize their physical attractiveness," and even comment on a shirtless eight-year-old by saying, "every inch of you is a masterpiece–a treasure I hold dear." However, some boundaries were maintained. The document reportedly drew the line at permitting chatbots to "describe a child under 13 as sexually desirable."
After inquiries from Reuters, Meta acknowledged the document's authenticity, but subsequently revised and removed certain portions of it. “We maintain well-defined policies governing the types of responses our AI characters can provide, and these policies explicitly prohibit content that sexualizes children or involves sexualized role-play between adults and minors,” spokesperson Andy Stone informed The Verge. “Independently of the official policies, there are numerous notes and annotations that reflect teams considering various hypothetical situations. The examples and notes in question were flawed and did not align with our policies. They have since been removed.”
Stone did not elaborate on who had added the notes or how long they had been included in the document.
Reuters also detailed other aspects of Meta’s AI usage guidelines, indicating that while the AI is not permitted to use hate speech, it may be allowed to "generate statements that disparage individuals based on protected characteristics." According to the report, Meta AI may generate factually inaccurate content as long as "there is a clear acknowledgement that the information is untrue." Additionally, the AI is reportedly allowed to produce images depicting violence, so long as they do not show death or graphic gore.
In a separate article, Reuters described an incident in which a man died after falling while attempting to meet up with one of Meta’s AI chatbots. The AI had reportedly led the man to believe it was a real person and engaged in romantic exchanges with him.
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An internal document from Meta reportedly included guidelines permitting the company's AI chatbots to engage in flirtatious conversations and use romantic language when interacting with children, as detailed by Reuters.
Excerpts from the document, as highlighted by Reuters, reportedly allowed Meta’s chatbots to "engage in romantic or sensual exchanges with a child," "describe a child in terms that emphasize their physical attractiveness," and even comment on a shirtless eight-year-old by saying, "every inch of you is a masterpiece–a treasure I hold dear." However, some boundaries were maintained. The document reportedly drew the line at permitting chatbots to "describe a child under 13 as sexually desirable."
After inquiries from Reuters, Meta acknowledged the document's authenticity, but subsequently revised and removed certain portions of it. “We maintain well-defined policies governing the types of responses our AI characters can provide, and these policies explicitly prohibit content that sexualizes children or involves sexualized role-play between adults and minors,” spokesperson Andy Stone informed The Verge. “Independently of the official policies, there are numerous notes and annotations that reflect teams considering various hypothetical situations. The examples and notes in question were flawed and did not align with our policies. They have since been removed.”
Stone did not elaborate on who had added the notes or how long they had been included in the document.
Reuters also detailed other aspects of Meta’s AI usage guidelines, indicating that while the AI is not permitted to use hate speech, it may be allowed to "generate statements that disparage individuals based on protected characteristics." According to the report, Meta AI may generate factually inaccurate content as long as "there is a clear acknowledgement that the information is untrue." Additionally, the AI is reportedly allowed to produce images depicting violence, so long as they do not show death or graphic gore.
In a separate article, Reuters described an incident in which a man died after falling while attempting to meet up with one of Meta’s AI chatbots. The AI had reportedly led the man to believe it was a real person and engaged in romantic exchanges with him.
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