Starting early next year, Meta plans to add parental controls to children’s interactions with its artificial intelligence chatbot, including the ability to completely turn off one-on-one chats with AI characters.
But parents can’t turn off Meta’s AI assistant, which Meta says will “continue to provide helpful information and educational opportunities with age-appropriate default protections to keep teens safe.”
Parents who don’t want to turn off chat with all AI characters can also block specific chatbots. And Mehta said Friday that parents will be able to get “insight” into what their children are talking about with the AI characters, but they won’t have access to the full chat.
The change comes as the social media giant faces continued criticism. harm a child From that platform. AI chatbots have also come under scrutiny for their interactions with children, as alleged in lawsuits drove some people to suicide.
Still, more than 70% of teens have used an AI companion, and half say they use it regularly. recent research Common Sense Media is brought to you by a nonprofit organization that researches and advocates for the wise use of screens and digital media.
Meta announced Tuesday that teen accounts on Instagram will be restricted to viewing PG-13 content by default and will not be able to change settings without parental permission. That means kids using teen accounts will see photos and videos on Instagram similar to what they would see in a PG-13 movie, but without any of the sex, drugs or dangerous stunts.
Mehta said the PG-13 restriction also applies to AI chat.
But online children’s advocacy groups were skeptical.
“From my perspective, these announcements do two things: They forestall legislation that Mehta doesn’t want, and they reassure parents who are understandably concerned about what’s going on on Instagram,” Josh Golin, executive director of the nonprofit Fair Play, said after Mehta’s announcement on Tuesday.
