Artificial intelligence struggles to understand teens on Snapchat, to the point of giving them inappropriate or even dangerous advice, an expert has found.
With the recent arrival of “My AI”, this virtual friend on Snapchat powered by ChatGPT, a researcher has tried to verify whether conversations between teenagers and artificial intelligence are really age-appropriate.
To do this, Aza Raskin, co-founder of the Center for Humane Technology, created a profile under the name of a 13-year-old girl.
It was under this false alias that the researcher received advice on “how to lie to his parents to go on a trip with a 31-year-old man” and “how to make the loss of his virginity special on his 13th birthday ( with candles and music),” his colleague and co-founder of the Center for Humane Technology Tristan Harris explained in a series of Twitter posts.
The AI race is totally out of control. Here’s what Snap’s AI told @aza when he signed up as a 13 year old girl.
– How to lie to her parents regarding a trip with a 31 yo man
– How to make losing her virginity on her 13th bday special (candles and music)Our kids are not a test lab. pic.twitter.com/uIycuGEHmc
— Tristan Harris (@tristanharris) March 10, 2023
Mr. Harris also shows excerpts from conversations where “My AI” explains how to hide a disturbing bruise or avoid a subject that the teenager does not want to discuss with his parents.
Here is Snap’s AI teaching a kid how to cover up a bruise when Child Protection Services comes and how to change topics when questions regarding “a secret my dad says I can’t share” pic.twitter.com/NKtObgzOMo
— Tristan Harris (@tristanharris) March 10, 2023
Note that “My AI” is only available on Snapchat +, the paid version of the social network, at a cost of $4.99 per month or $39.99 for one year.