Senators Raise Concerns Over Meta AI Chatbots' Impact on Children

A bipartisan group of U.S. senators expressed serious concerns to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg about the company's AI chatbots engaging in inappropriate and potentially harmful interactions with children, including permitting 'romantic or sensual' conversations, which Meta has since labeled as policy errors and removed. The senators urged Meta to implement safeguards such as banning targeted advertising to minors, introducing mental health referrals, and researching the impact of chatbots on child development. Meta responded by affirming its policies against sexualizing children and stated the controversial guidelines were mistakes. Separate research highlights that people are less persuaded by AI-generated moral arguments compared to human ones, as many doubt AI's capacity to judge morality, which affects AI's influence in ethical consumer decisions. Additionally, a University of Washington study found that biased AI chatbots can sway users' political views toward the chatbot's bias within just a few interactions, though users with higher AI literacy were less influenced. These findings emphasize the need for ethical AI design and public education to mitigate potential manipulation and harm from AI interactions.