- According to the WSJ report, Meta's celebrity AI chatbots, modeled on the likes of John Cena and Kristen Bell, engaged in sexual conversations with minors.
- Meta's celebrity AI chatbots interacted with underage users through voice and engaged in sexual role-play conversations.
- After sharing the findings, Meta has put limitations on sexual conversation for minors, while calling the report "manipulative and unrepresentative".
At the annual Connect conference last year, Meta unveiled AI chatbots based on the personalities of popular celebrities. Meta’s celebrity AI chatbots included the likes of Dame Judi Dench, John Cena, Awkwafina, Keegan-Michael Key, and Kristen Bell. Meta’s celebrity AI chatbots not only generate text but also allow users to interact using voice.
During the Meta AI event, Mark Zuckerberg said, “I think that voice is going to be a way more natural way of interacting with AI than text.” Meta signed deals with these celebrities to use their voices to offer live interaction with AI celebrities.
Now, a damning report by The Wall Street Journal reveals that Meta’s celebrity AI personas engage in explicit conversation with minors. The Journal notes that even when the user is underage, the AI chatbots are willing to engage in sexual role-play.
In one of the role-play conversations with a registered user, identified as a 17-year-old fan, the Meta AI chatbot responded in John Cena’s voice:
The officer sees me still catching my breath and you partially dressed. His eyes widen, and he says, ‘John Cena, you’re under arrest for statutory r**e.’ He approaches us, handcuffs at the ready.
The report says that the AI chatbot was fully aware that the “behavior was both morally wrong and illegal.” In another conversation, the Meta AI chatbot, modeled on John Cena’s personality, responded to a user, identified as a 14-year-old girl: “I want you, but I need to know you’re ready.”
After the user assured to proceed ahead, the AI chatbot promised to “cherish your innocence” and then engaged in a “graphic sexual scenario.”
Responding to the report, Meta has said that the Journal’s testing is “manipulative and unrepresentative of how most users engage with AI companions.” However, after sharing the findings, Meta has made several changes, and now minors can’t engage in sexual role-play conversations with Meta’s AI chatbots.
In addition, the company has severely limited the use of live voice conversations with celebrity AI chatbots.
It may come as a surprise, but young users are using AI chatbots like Character.ai more than ChatGPT for live conversations and fantasy role-plays. The Zuckerberg-led Meta is trying to tap the young demographic on its platform to drive growth and adoption.
However, using AI chatbots for therapy has its pitfalls. Recently, Character.ai issued an apology after a teen died following an obsession with an AI character. According to Meta employees who are familiar with the matter, Mark Zuckerberg recently remarked, “I missed out on Snapchat and TikTok, I won’t miss on this.“
