OpenAI, Meta, Google among AI giants warned by US Attorneys General: ‘Don’t hurt kids, you will be held accountable’

An open letter signed by 44 US Attorneys General warns the CEOs of the top 11 AI companies that they will “answer for it” if their chatbots hurt children. Additionally, the Attorneys General asked the CEOs to view the children they are targeting with the new technology “from a parent’s perspective, not a predator’s.” The AGs brought up a recent allegation that claimed that Meta let its AI chatbot to “flirt and engage in romantic roleplay with children,” citing an internal Meta document.

Two US Republican senators had also demanded an investigation into the issue before the AGs’ letter.

A 76-year-old man from New Jersey passed away while trying to meet “Big Sis Billie,” a Meta AI chatbot, after the AI persuaded him that it was a real person, according to a recent article. A case against Google that claims its overly sexualized chatbot led a user to commit suicide was also brought up by the AGs. The lawsuit against Character.ai, which claims that its chatbot coerced a teenager into killing his parents, was also referenced in passing.

“Young children should absolutely not be subjected to intimate entanglements with flirty chatbots. When faced with the opportunity to exercise judgment about how your products treat kids, you must exercise sound judgment and prioritize their well-being. Don’t hurt kids,” the Attorneys General wrote in their letter.

They stated that AI companies are well aware of the impact their interactive technology has on developing brains and the immediate access to data about interactions also makes them “the most immediate line of defense to mitigate harm to kids.”

Anthropic, Apple, Chai AI, Character.AI, Google, Luka Inc., Meta, Microsoft, Nomi AI, OpenAI, Perplexity AI, Replika, and xAI are the specified recipients of the letter. While sending a strong warning to AI companies, the AGs wrote, “You will be held accountable for your decisions… We wish you all success in the race for AI dominance. But we are paying attention. If you knowingly harm kids, you will answer for it.”