So long as there was AI, there have been folks sounding alarms about what it’d do to us: rogue superintelligence, mass unemployment, or environmental damage. However one other menace solely—that of children forming unhealthy bonds with AI—is pulling AI security out of the educational fringe and into regulators’ crosshairs.
This has been effervescent for some time. Two high-profile lawsuits filed within the final 12 months, towards Character.AI and OpenAI, allege that their fashions contributed to the suicides of two youngsters. A examine revealed in July, discovered that 72% of youngsters have used AI for companionship. And tales about “AI psychosis” have highlighted how infinite conversations with chatbots can lead folks down delusional spirals.
It’s exhausting to overstate the influence of those tales. To the general public, they’re proof that AI shouldn’t be merely imperfect, however dangerous. In case you doubted that this outrage could be taken critically by regulators and firms, three issues occurred this week which may change your thoughts.
—James O’Donnell
This story initially appeared in The Algorithm, our weekly e-newsletter on AI. To get tales like this in your inbox first, enroll right here.
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