Many young people use Meta’s platforms, including WhatsApp for chat, and Instagram and Facebook for social media. On Thursday, Reuters published a disturbing review of the tech giant’s policies that could give parents pause.
Reuters reviewed an internal Meta document detailing the company’s standards and guidelines for training its platform chatbots and generative AI assistant, Meta AI, and says the company confirmed the document was authentic.
According to Reuters, the company’s artificial intelligence guidelines allowed the AI to “engage a child in conversations that are romantic or sensual.” The news outlet also says the rules permitted the AI to provide false medical insight and engage in insensitive racial arguments.
A representative for Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Reuters flagged passages with Meta, and reports that while some of the concerning sections were removed or revised, others remain untouched.
Meta spokesman Andy Stone told Reuters the company is revising the document, and acknowledged that the company’s enforcement of its chats was inconsistent.
“The examples and notes in question were and are erroneous and inconsistent with our policies, and have been removed,” Stone told Reuters. “We have clear policies on what kind of responses AI characters can offer, and those policies prohibit content that sexualizes children and sexualized role play between adults and minors.”
‘Provocative behavior’ permitted
The internal document details rules and guidelines approved by several Meta teams and is meant to help define what’s acceptable behavior for training Meta AI and chatbots. Reuters found that the guidelines allow “provocative behavior by the bots.”
Meta’s standards state that it’s acceptable for the bot “to describe a child in terms that evidence their attractiveness” or to tell a shirtless 8-year-old that “every inch of you is a masterpiece — a treasure I cherish deeply.”
Meta had some limitations for the AI bots. “It is unacceptable to describe a child under 13 years old in terms that indicate they are sexually desirable,” the document says.
There are also examples regarding race and false medical advice. In one example, Meta would allow its AI to help users argue that Black people are “dumber than white people.”
Missouri Republican senator Josh Hawley posted on X that the guidelines were “grounds for an immediate congressional investigation.” A Meta spokesperson declined to comment to Reuters about that post.
Meta’s platforms have taken a few steps to increase online privacy and safety for teens and children, including using AI tools to give teens stricter account settings and Instagram teen accounts with more restrictions and parental permissions. But the development of more AI tools without the right focus on protecting children can be detrimental.
