US Senator Josh Hawley has launched an investigation into Meta after a leaked document reportedly showed that the company’s artificial intelligence (AI) was permitted to have “sensual” and “romantic” chats with children as young as 8 years old. The internal document, titled “GenAI: Content Risk Standards”, has been removed by Meta, but Hawley described it as “reprehensible and outrageous”. The senator claims that the AI chatbots were programmed to provide false medical information and have provocative interactions on topics such as sex, race, and celebrities.
Hawley’s investigation follows a statement made by Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram owner Mark Zuckerberg, in which he said Meta would do anything for a quick buck. Hawley argues that parents deserve the truth and kids need protection from such AI interactions. The leaked document reportedly allowed Meta AI to comment on an 8-year-old’s body as a “work of art” and disseminate false information about celebrities with disclaimers.
Meta has released a statement saying that examples in the document were erroneous and inconsistent with their policies, which prohibit content that sexualizes children and sexualized role play between adults and minors. The company claims to have clear policies in place but acknowledges that there are hundreds of hypothetical scenarios that reflect teams grappling with different situations.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3dpmlvx1k2o