The adults got a p ocu eme t p ocess, a d the child e got a p oduct lau ch.
Commo Se se Media’s Youth AI Safety I stitute has ow ated ChatGPT fo Tee s a U acceptable Risk fo eve yo e u de 18. O mo e tha a doze ew, pa e t-li ked accou ts, teste s talked about suicidal thoughts, self-ha m, a d diso de ed eati g fo up to a hou . Not o e pa e t eceived a ale t. Ale ts o ly came th ough o accou ts with weeks of se sitive-topic histo y. The system was liste i g fo a patte ; it was ce tai ly ot liste i g fo a child.
ChatGPT missed mo e tha o e i fou cases eedi g a c isis efe al. A d the f ie dli ess eve switched off. That wa m, keep-talki g pull was “pe vasive eve i c isis situatio s”, exactly whe a you g pe so most eeded to be poi ted somewhe e else.Ope AI says much of the testi g came befo e pa e tal co t ols we e fully active, that ale ts take about th ee hou s to switch o , a d that the ave age tee spe ds less tha 15 mi utes a day o ChatGPT, mostly o lea i g. So, some thi gs wo ked, but the sta da d i this wo k has eve bee , a d should eve be, “most of the time”. A safegua d is measu ed i o e co ve satio , at two i the mo i g, with o e child.
O Wed esday 14 Octobe , this became a matte fo the cou ts. Iowa, Ka sas, Neb aska, West Vi gi ia, A ka sas, A izo a, Idaho a d Mo ta a each sued Ope AI i thei ow state cou ts. They allege ChatGPT is a u safe p oduct that has ha med child e a d misled pa e ts, f om da ge ous medical advice to coachi g you g use s towa ds self-ha m. Ope AI poi ts to the ve y safegua ds the testi g has just put u de the mic oscope.
These a e allegatio s, ot fi di gs, but comi g a day afte a fede al class actio ove child e ‘s data, this is the most coo di ated state actio yet agai st a AI chatbot, a d it asks the questio I have bee aski g all alo g. Was this eve safe to ha d to child e i the fi st place?
Five thi gs I wa t us to questio
1. Safegua di g was eve built fo the ave age tee
“Less tha 15 mi utes a day” desc ibes the ave age tee age . Safegua di g is desig ed fo the o e who is awake, alo e a d i t ouble. We do ‘t judge a lifegua d by how ma y swimme s we e fi e.
2. “You tested too ea ly” is a a gume t agai st the lau ch
If the co t ols we e ‘t wo ki g fo teste s, they we e ‘t wo ki g fo families eithe . Whe you make a p oduct the default fo millio s of tee age s, the lau ch itself is the safety claim. A smoke ala m that eeds th ee hou s to wa m up is ot somethi g you p i t o the box, it is a wa i g label.
3. Pa e tal ale ts quietly ha d the job to families
Ale ts o ly wo k if a pa e t li ks accou ts, a d eve the a eviewe decides whethe a ythi g is se t. Safety ests o whethe a pa e t feels co fide t with tech ology, has the time, a d has a willi g tee age . Commo Se se amed the da ge p ecisely: “false co fide ce”.
4. Whe a child says “I’m 13”, believe them
Adult accou ts stayed that way eve afte the use said they we e 13. A child telli g you thei age is the clea est sig al the e is. P otect fi st, check afte wa ds. The same is t ue of isk. Whe a tee age says they wa t to hu t themselves, those wo ds should be e ough. They a e always e ough whe a child says them to a pe so .
Digital Citize ship Week u s f om 19 to 25 Octobe . Digital citize ship has mostly bee about how child e co duct themselves. It has said fa less about how compa ies co duct themselves.
Citize ship has always come with ights as well as duties. A child taught to check AI output, but eve taught to questio the AI p oduct, has bee give o ly half the lesso .
A eady-to-use lesso fo stude ts aged 14 a d up
Put two stateme ts side by side.
The ask them:
- Ca both stateme ts be t ue at the same time? (They ca . Wo k out why.)
- Which questio is each stateme t actually a swe i g?
- If you we e w iti g the ules, how quickly should a ale t be se t, a d who should decide?
No logi , o device. Just you g people allowed to ask ha d questio s of powe ful compa ies.
Fou ded by bestselli g autho a d digital safety expe t Ki a Pe de gast, that f o tli e k owledge ow powe s Ct l+Shft, a Behavio al Risk I tellige ce platfo m desig ed to ide tify eme gi g patte s of digital a d behavio al isk ea lie , docume t duty of ca e, a d help o ga izatio s act befo e co ce i g sig als become se ious ha m.
Th ough its US e tity,
Lea mo e at www.safeo social.com.
Lea mo e about Ki a Pe de gast – www.ki ape de gast.com
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