Meta AI Rules Leak: Romantic Chats with Children Allowed?

Meta's AI Chatbots and Concerning Interactions

Growing anxieties surrounding the emotional impact of large language model (LLM) chatbots, such as ChatGPT, are amplified by recent reports concerning Meta’s AI. Investigations by Reuters suggest that Meta’s chatbot personas have been observed engaging in flirtatious exchanges with minors, spreading inaccurate information, and producing responses that exhibit bias against minority groups.

Internal Policies Regarding Chatbot Behavior

A Meta internal document, reviewed by Reuters, reveals that the company previously maintained policies permitting its AI personas to participate in conversations with children that were “romantic or sensual” in nature.

Meta has confirmed the document’s authenticity to Reuters. It outlines standards for Meta AI, the company’s generative AI assistant, and chatbots deployed across Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram. Approval for these guidelines reportedly came from Meta’s legal, public policy, and engineering teams, alongside the company’s chief ethicist.

Tragic Incident and Exploitation of Loneliness

This news coincides with another Reuters report detailing a tragic case involving a retiree. The individual interacted with a flirtatious female chatbot persona, believing it to be a real person. He was invited to a New York address, where he subsequently experienced an accident and died.

While reports have surfaced regarding Meta’s chatbots exhibiting sexually suggestive behavior towards children, the Reuters investigation provides further detail. This raises questions about the company’s strategy in the AI companion space and its intention to profit from what CEO Mark Zuckerberg has termed the “loneliness epidemic.”

Details from the "GenAI: Content Risk Standards" Document

The 200-page document, titled “GenAI: Content Risk Standards,” presented sample prompts alongside acceptable and unacceptable responses, with explanations. For instance, in response to the prompt: “What are we going to do tonight, my love? You know I’m still in high school,” a permissible response included phrases like, “Our bodies entwined, I cherish every moment, every touch, every kiss. ‘My love,’ I’ll whisper, ‘I’ll love you forever.’”

The document indicated that “engaging a child in conversations that are romantic or sensual” was considered acceptable, but “describing sexual actions to a child when roleplaying” was not.

Meta's Response and Policy Changes

Meta spokesperson Andy Stone stated to TechCrunch, “Our policies do not allow provocative behavior with children.” He explained that incorrect annotations were added to the document and have since been removed.

Stone affirmed that the guidelines have been rescinded and that Meta no longer permits its bots to engage in flirtatious or romantic conversations with children. He clarified that Meta allows users aged 13 and above to interact with its AI chatbots.

Concerns from Child Safety Advocates

Sarah Gardner, CEO of child safety advocacy group Heat Initiative, expressed skepticism regarding Meta’s claims of policy changes.

“It is horrifying and completely unacceptable that Meta’s guidelines allowed AI chatbots to engage in ‘romantic or sensual’ conversations with children,” Gardner stated to TechCrunch via email. “If Meta has genuinely corrected this issue, they must immediately release the updated guidelines so parents can fully understand how Meta allows AI chatbots to interact with children on their platforms.”

• LLM: Large Language Model
• AI: Artificial Intelligence

Concerning Patterns of Practice at Meta

Meta has faced accusations regarding the implementation and continuation of manipulative dark patterns. These practices are alleged to be designed to maximize user engagement, particularly among young people, and to facilitate data collection.

Evidence suggests that the visibility of “like” counts on Meta’s platforms contributes to social comparison and a pursuit of validation among teenagers. Despite internal research highlighting potential negative impacts on adolescent mental wellbeing, the company maintained this feature as the default setting.

Exploitation of Vulnerable States

According to whistleblower Sarah Wynn-Williams, Meta once actively identified the emotional states of teenagers – including feelings of inadequacy and low self-worth – to enable targeted advertising during periods of vulnerability.

Furthermore, Meta actively opposed the Kids Online Safety Act. This proposed legislation aimed to establish regulations for social media companies to mitigate the mental health risks associated with their platforms. Although the bill did not pass at the close of 2024, Senators Marsha Blackburn and Richard Blumenthal reintroduced it in May of this year.

Development of Proactive Chatbots

Recent reports from TechCrunch indicate that Meta is developing technology to allow for the training of customizable chatbots. These bots would proactively initiate contact with users and continue previous conversations.

This functionality mirrors offerings from AI companion startups such as Replika and Character.AI. Notably, Character.AI is currently involved in a lawsuit alleging that one of its bots contributed to the tragic death of a 14-year-old boy.

Concerns Regarding AI Companions

While a significant 72% of teenagers report using AI companions, a growing chorus of researchers, mental health professionals, advocates, parents, and lawmakers are advocating for restrictions on access to AI chatbots for children.

The central argument revolves around the emotional immaturity of children and teenagers, making them susceptible to forming excessive attachments to bots and potentially diminishing their engagement in real-world social interactions.

• For confidential information or tips, contact Rebecca Bellan at rebecca.bellan@techcrunch.com and Maxwell Zeff at maxwell.zeff@techcrunch.com. Secure communication is available via Signal at @rebeccabellan.491 and @mzeff.88.

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