At Stanford, dozens of attendees participated in prolonged chats concerning the dangers, in addition to the advantages, of bot companions. “On the finish of the day we really see quite a lot of settlement,” says Sunny Liu, director of analysis packages at Stanford. She highlighted the group’s pleasure for “methods we will use these instruments to carry different folks collectively.”
Teen Security
How AI companions can affect younger folks was a main subject of debate, with views from staff at Character.AI, which is designed for roleplaying and has been well-liked with youngsters, in addition to specialists in youngsters on-line well being, just like the Digital Wellness Lab at Boston Youngsters’s Hospital.
The deal with youthful customers comes as a number of dad and mom are suing chatbot makers, together with OpenAI and Character.AI, over the deaths of kids who had interacted with bots. OpenAI added a slate of latest security options for teenagers as a part of its response. And subsequent week, Character.AI plans to ban users under 18 from accessing the chat function.
All through 2025, AI corporations have both explicitly or implicitly acknowledged that they’ll do extra to guard susceptible customers, like youngsters, who could work together with companions. “It’s acceptable to have interaction a baby in conversations which can be romantic or sensual,” learn an inner Meta doc outlining AI conduct pointers, in response to reporting from Reuters.
In the course of the ensuing uproar from lawmakers and outraged dad and mom, Meta changed the guidance and up to date the corporate’s safety approach in the direction of teenagers.
Roleplay Roll Name
Whereas Character.AI participated within the workshop, nobody from Replika, an analogous roleplay website, or Grok, Elon Musk’s bot with NSFW anime companions, was there. Spokespeople for Replika and Grok didn’t reply to quick requests for remark.
On the absolutely express finish of the spectrum, the makers of Sweet.ai, which makes a speciality of racy chatbots for straight males, confirmed up. Customers of the adults-only platform, constructed by EverAI, will pay cash to generate uncensored pictures of the artificial ladies, with background tales that mimic widespread pornography tropes. For instance, feminine companions featured on Sweet’s homepage embody Mona, a “rebellious stepsister” you’re house alone with, and Elodie, a good friend’s daughter who “simply turned 18.”
