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<\/p>\n Email Link<\/p>\n New York \n EDITOR\u2019S NOTE:\u00a0 Help is available if you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts or mental health matters. In the US: Call or text 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. Globally: The International Association for Suicide Prevention<\/a> and Befrienders Worldwide<\/a> have contact information for crisis centers.\n<\/p>\n \n The Federal Trade Commission has launched an investigation into seven tech companies around potential harms their artificial intelligence chatbots could cause to children and teenagers.\n <\/p>\n \n The inquiry focuses on AI chatbots that can serve as companions, which \u201ceffectively mimic human characteristics, emotions, and intentions, and generally are designed to communicate like a friend or confidant, which may prompt some users, especially children and teens, to trust and form relationships with chatbots,\u201d the agency said in a statement<\/a> Thursday.\n <\/p>\n \n The FTC sent order letters to Google parent company Alphabet; Character.AI; Instagram and its parent company, Meta; OpenAI; Snap; and Elon Musk\u2019s xAI. The agency wants information about whether and how the firms measure the impact of their chatbots on young users and how they protect against and alert parents to potential risks.\n <\/p>\n \n The investigation comes amid rising concern around AI use by children and teens, following a string of lawsuits and reports accusing chatbots of being complicit in the suicide deaths<\/a>, sexual exploitation<\/a> and other harms to young people. That includes one<\/a> lawsuit against OpenAI and two<\/a> against Character.AI<\/a> that remain ongoing even as the companies say they are continuing to build out additional features to protect users from harmful interactions with their bots.\n <\/p>\n \n Broader concerns have also surfaced that even adult users are building unhealthy emotional attachments<\/a> to AI chatbots, in part because the tools are often designed to be agreeable and supportive.\n <\/p>\n \n At least one online safety advocacy group, Common Sense Media, has argued<\/a> that AI \u201ccompanion\u201d apps pose unacceptable risks to children and should not be available to users under the age of 18. Two California state<\/a> bills<\/a> related to AI chatbot safety for minors, including one backed by Common Sense Media, are set to receive final votes this week and, if passed, will reach California Gov. Gavin Newsom\u2019s desk. The US Senate Judiciary Committee is also set to hold a hearing<\/a> next week entitled \u201cExamining the Harm of AI Chatbots.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cAs AI technologies evolve, it is important to consider the effects chatbots can have on children, while also ensuring that the United States maintains its role as a global leader in this new and exciting industry,\u201d FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson said in the Thursday statement. \u201cThe study we\u2019re launching today will help us better understand how AI firms are developing their products and the steps they are taking to protect children.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n In particular, the FTC\u2019s orders seek information about how the companies monetize user engagement, generate outputs in response to user inquiries, develop and approve AI characters, use or share personal information gained through user conversations and mitigate negative impacts to children, among other details.\n <\/p>\n \n Google, Snap, xAI and Character.AI did not immediately respond to requests for comment.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cOur priority is making ChatGPT helpful and safe for everyone, and we know safety matters above all else when young people are involved. We recognize the FTC has open questions and concerns, and we\u2019re committed to engaging constructively and responding to them directly,\u201d OpenAI spokesperson Liz Bourgeois said in a statement. She added that OpenAI has safeguards such as notifications directing users to crisis helplines and plans to roll out parental controls for minor users.\n <\/p>\n
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