The American Consumer Protection Agency, the FTC, said Thursday that it has opened an investigation into chatbots used as generative artificial intelligence (AI), such as Chatgpt or Grok, after the recent complaint against OpenAi linked to the suicide of a Californian teenager.
The FTC has sent a request for information to seven companies that offer accessible chatbots for the general public, namely, Openai, Alphabet, character. A, Instagram, Meta, Snap and XAI. Everyone offers their own version of a general assistant of AI.
The application refers to the way in which these companies “measure, prove and monitor the possible negative effects of this technology on children and adolescents,” the agency said in a statement.
Monitor the impact of chatbots on children
At the end of August, Adam Raine’s parents, a teenager who committed suicide in April at the age of 16, filed a complaint against Openai, accusing Chatgpt of having given his son detailed instructions to take measures. Following the complaint, Operai announced working in corrective actions.
The San Francisco group says in particular that it has indicated that when the exchange with Chatgpt continues, the chatbot does not systematically suggest contacting a psychological aid service if the Internet user talks about suicidal thoughts.
The agency also wants to ensure that it respects the law of online privacy protection of children, a law approved in 1998 by Congress that supervises the collection and use of personal data of children under 13 years on the Internet.
An increasing number of young Internet users use new generation AI assistants as a virtual partner, sometimes looking for psychological support, even if these chatbots were not designed for this purpose.
In October 2024, a mother from Florida had involved the character. A, judging that his chatbot had left his son’s mental health, during long exchanges for several months, he deteriorated without recommending that he seek psychological help. The 14 -year -old teenager had committed suicide a few minutes after a last conversation that clearly evoked his act.
Source: BFM TV
