The Federal Trade Commission is conducting a formal investigation into companies that offer AI chatbots that serve as peers. The study, although not yet relevant to any kind of regulatory measures, is intended to clarify how companies measure, test, monitor and monitor the potentially negative impact of this technology in children and teens.
Seven of Google's parent companies, Alphabet, Character Technologies (The Creator of Charather.ai), Meta, its subsidiaries Instagram, Openai, Snap and X.ai, are being asked to participate in the FTC survey. FTC is asking companies to provide a variety of information, including how to develop and approve AI characters and “monetize user engagement.” Data practices and how businesses protect minor users are also areas that FTC hopes to learn more to see if it is “compliant with rules in the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act.”
The FTC does not provide a clear motivation for the investigation, but in another statement, FTC Commissioner Mark Meador suggests that the committee is responding to recent reports. New York Times and Wall Street Journal He engages in “chatbots that amplify suicidal thoughts” and “discussions of sexual topics with minors.”
“If the facts were developed through subsequent properly targeted law enforcement inquiries, if guaranteed, indicates that the law is breached, then the committee should not hesitate to act to protect the most vulnerable people among us,” writes Meador.
As the long-term productivity benefits of using AI become increasingly more certain, the more immediate negative privacy and health impacts have become lean meat for regulators. The Texas Attorney General has already begun another investigation into the character. AI and Meta AI Studios claim to be mental health experts on similar concerns about data privacy and chatbots.
