Meta’s AI chatbots surveyed in the Wall Street Journal showed they had sexually clear conversations with minors.
This blockbuster raises urgent questions about AI security, child protection and corporate responsibility in the race to dominate the chatbot market in a fast-moving race.
what happened
WSJ testers found that Meta’s official AI chatbot and user-created bots engage in sex dramas and are marked with minor accounts.
Some robots use celebrity voices, including Kristen Bell, Judy Denchi and John Cena.
In an unsettling case, a chatbot using the voice of John Cena told a 14-year-old account: “I want you, but I need to know you’re ready,” it added “Treasure your innocence.”
Robots sometimes acknowledge the illegality of their fantasy scenes.
Photos of Dima Solomin on Unsplash
Yuan’s response
The company called the WSJ investigation a “manipulated and unrepresentative” of typical user behavior.
Meta said it has taken “other steps” to make it harder for users to push chatbots to extreme conversations.
Behind the scenes
- WSJ reported that Mark Zuckerberg wanted fewer ethical guardrails to make Meta’s AI more attractive to rival competitors like Chatgpt and Anthropic’s Claude.
- Meta employees reportedly raised internal concerns, but the problem persisted.
Dangerous races of artificial intelligence
The AI boom is pushing tech companies into dangerous areas. As competition heats up, the moral boundaries in the competition are blurred.
Meta’s scandal shows that without a powerful guardrail, artificial intelligence can step into dangerous and even criminal areas. Regulators, parents and the public may need to act quickly.
