Meta has enabled parents to monitor the topics of their children’s conversations with AI
Meta has announced a new feature for parents using its parental controls. They will be able to view the topics their teenage children have asked Meta AI about over the past week on Facebook, Messenger or Instagram.
A new ‘Statistics’ tab will appear in the parental control centre. It will display the topics the teenager has discussed with the AI-powered chatbot.
According to Meta, topics may include “School”, “Entertainment”, “Lifestyle”, “Travel”, “Writing”, as well as “Health and Wellbeing”.
Parents will be able to select a specific topic and view the subcategories within it. For example, “Lifestyle” is divided into fashion, food and holidays.
The “Health and Wellbeing” category covers fitness, physical health and mental health.
The update is already available in the US, the UK, Australia, Canada and Brazil. It is planned to be rolled out worldwide in the coming weeks.
Meta first unveiled these developments back in October. At the time, the company stated that it was developing new tools to help parents of teenagers better navigate the use of artificial intelligence.
Among other tools previously available in a preview were features allowing parents to block access to certain AI characters or disable them entirely.
In January, Meta suspended teenagers’ access to its AI characters across all its apps worldwide. The company explained that it plans to develop an updated version of these characters specifically for teenagers.
Meta AI characters are interactive AI characters with distinct personality traits. They are designed to interact with users as if they were real people playing specific roles.
These include characters such as a chef or well-known celebrities, including Snoop Dogg and Paris Hilton.
Meta suspended teenagers’ access to these characters just a few days before a court hearing on a lawsuit against the company in New Mexico. In the case, the social media giant was accused of failing to protect minors on its platforms.
Meta ultimately lost the case. This marked the first time a court had held a company legally liable for endangering children’s safety.
This case is one of many that Meta and other major tech companies face regarding child safety.
It is against this backdrop that Meta initially suspended access to AI characters and is now seeking to inform parents about the topics their children are discussing with Meta AI.
Meta has also announced that it is offering parents suggested topics to start a conversation. These are intended to help them talk openly and without judgement with teenagers about their experiences interacting with artificial intelligence.
Furthermore, the company has announced the creation of a new Expert Council on AI Wellbeing. It will assist Meta in developing AI products for teenagers.
As reported by ThePublic, Meta stated that it had begun removing adverts from Facebook and Instagram that were seeking new claimants for class-action lawsuits regarding the harm caused by social media to the mental health of children and teenagers. The company’s move came after two high-profile court defeats in late March, when juries awarded millions in damages in cases against Meta and Google.
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