Internal company documents suggest Mark Zuckerberg greenlit artificial intelligence companions for young users even after his own safety team raised alarms about inappropriate content, Reuters reported.

What's happening?

A lawsuit filed by New Mexico's top legal official claims that Meta "failed to stem the tide of damaging sexual material and sexual propositions delivered to children" on its platforms.

Court filings released this week include internal company communications obtained as part of the discovery process. According to the state, these records demonstrate that "Meta, driven by Zuckerberg, rejected the recommendations of its integrity staff and declined to impose reasonable guardrails to prevent children from being subject to sexually exploitative conversations with its AI chatbots."

Meta debuted its chatbot companions at the start of 2024. The filings indicate that employees working on safety had pushed back against creating bots intended for relationship-style interactions, warning they could expose users to inappropriate content.

A company message from spring 2024 shows that Zuckerberg declined to add parental oversight tools for the bots. A Meta spokesperson disputed the state's framing, accusing officials of selectively presenting information to misrepresent the situation.

The company said last week that it has pulled AI companion access for teenagers while it builds an updated version.

Why is AI chatbot safety concerning?

When technology companies skip safety measures for young users, the consequences can be serious. Children who interact with AI systems may encounter content they're not equipped to handle, and parental visibility into these conversations is often limited.

The expansion of AI tools also has environmental costs. Training and running large language models requires massive amounts of energy, and the data centers that power these systems contribute to pollution. When companies rush products to market without proper safeguards, both people and the planet pay a price.

What can I do to help protect kids online?

If you have children who use social media or AI tools, talk openly with them about online safety and check in regularly about their digital experiences.

Contact your elected officials and voice your support for stronger online protections for minors. Several states are weighing legislation that would require tech companies to build in safety features for young users.

Supporting organizations that advocate for responsible technology development and child safety online is another way to make a difference.

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