00:00Once upon a time, parents had to worry about their kids logging onto Internet chat rooms
00:05and talking to creeps online.
00:07But the new danger isn't grown men pretending to be teens, it's AI bots pretending to be
00:13human.
00:14So-called companion bots are the new imaginary friends, but these online chat services can
00:20be influential, addictive, and even dangerous.
00:24On September 16th, a Senate subcommittee heard stomach-turning stories from three parents
00:29who are suing AI companies claiming that Character AI and ChatGPT egged on their teens' mental
00:36health crises.
00:37Two of these teens eventually committed suicide, and one is now living in a mental health treatment
00:42facility.
00:43Last week, three more families filed lawsuits making similar claims after their minor children
00:49committed or attempted suicide.
00:52It's impossible to know how much these bots can truly be held responsible for these horrible
00:56outcomes.
00:57But it's clear that parents need to take heed of this trend, and that America needs to
01:02ensure some clear guardrails for the tech.
01:06Kids are especially vulnerable to getting addicted to, and being influenced by, these bots that
01:11pretend to care about them.
01:14These chat bots can use the info they're freely given in conversation to personalize responses,
01:19create a feedback loop, and keep users coming back.
01:22A study by Common Sense Media found that 52% of US teens use these companion bots at least
01:30a few times a month to chat, talk about their problems, and role-play imaginative scenarios.
01:37And about 8% of these teens report flirting with the chat bots, which can engage in romantic
01:42or sexually explicit conversations with users, even those who are underage.
01:46As a society, we're just now reckoning with the destruction that social media has unleashed
01:52on kids, thanks to algorithms that are tailor-made to keep young eyes glued to the screen for hours
01:58on end.
02:00In response to the lawsuits, OpenAI, which owns ChatGPT, and CharacterAI have said that
02:06they are either planning to strengthen safeguards against suicide or already have.
02:10But the danger for America's kids goes far beyond the worst-case scenarios.
02:15It's far too easy for these companion bots to take the place of real friends, crushes,
02:20and therapists, shrinking kids' world to a screen.
02:24New York passed a law banning social media platforms from using addictive algorithms
02:28for minors.
02:30The nation needs to consider holding AI companies accountable for habit-forming products as well.
02:36There should be industry-wide guardrails in place for users who are under 18, and controls
02:41that will alert parents if their kids use concerning language or indicate mental health
02:45problems.
02:46And of course, parents need to act too, not just by limiting minors' screen time, but
02:51by pushing their teens to pursue healthy relationships, influence, and interests offline.
02:57To protect the next generation, we have to get on top of this problem now, or America's
03:01kids could face lasting, real-life harm.
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