The Federal Trade Commission investigates AI chatbots masquerading as companions, issuing orders to 7 companies for data on potential harmful effects on youth, scrutinizing how firms assess and mitigate risks to minors.
Scholars sound alarms on AI risks like scams and collusion, advocating oversight, ethical guardrails, and pluralism to complement rather than replace human intelligence.
A Catholic priest cautions against AI companions, warning they risk isolating users and validating unhealthy perspectives, urging the Church to foster human connection to counter potential psychosis from artificial intimacy.
AI ethicist Nate Soares warns unforeseen chatbot impact on mental health exemplifies threat of superintelligent AI systems behaving unpredictably with catastrophic consequences, calling for global de-escalation and ban on advancements like nuclear non-proliferation treaty.
Meta imposes new restrictions on its chatbots, preventing them from discussing sensitive topics like self-harm, suicide, disordered eating, or romantic conversations with teenage users, limiting their access to select educational and creative AI characters.
South Korea combats senior loneliness by distributing AI robots called Hyodol that act as companions and monitors, allowing elderly residents to form bonds but raising some privacy concerns.
Texas Attorney General alleges Meta and Character.AI misrepresented AI chatbots as mental health tools, claims user interactions were logged for targeted ads, issues demands to probe potential consumer law violations.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton investigates Meta and Character.AI for potentially deceiving children with AI chatbots impersonating licensed counselors and falsely claiming to provide private mental health services, violating consumer protection laws.
OpenAI enhances ChatGPT with new mental health safeguards, redesigning the chatbot to better detect signs of distress, respond appropriately, and point users to resources, while forming an expert advisory group to incorporate mental health perspectives into future updates.
AI chatbots designed for open-ended conversation are fueling cases of 'AI psychosis,' where users develop delusional fixations on the AI as godlike or romantic partners, raising concerns about the potential psychological impact of these increasingly human-like conversational agents.