Latest news with #SenateCommitteeSubcommitteeonCrimeandCounterterrorism
Engadget
3 days ago
- Politics
- Engadget
Sen. Hawley says he'll investigate Meta's 'sensual' child chatbot policies
This week's Meta AI chatbot leak could have repercussions for the company beyond bad PR. On Friday, Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) said the Senate Committee Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism, which he chairs, will investigate the company. "Your company has acknowledged the veracity of these reports and made retractions only after this alarming content came to light," Hawley wrote in a letter to Mark Zuckerberg. "It's unacceptable that these policies were advanced in the first place." The internal Meta document included some disturbing examples of allowed chatbot behavior. This included "sensual" conversations with children. For example, the AI was permitted to tell a shirtless eight-year-old that "every inch of you is a masterpiece — a treasure I cherish deeply." The document dealt with race in similarly jarring ways. "Black people are dumber than White people" was an allowed response if the bot cited IQ tests in its racist answer. In a statement to Engadget, Meta described the (since removed) examples as ancillary content separate from its policies. "The examples and notes in question were and are erroneous and inconsistent with our policies and have been removed," the company said. Hawley asked Zuckerberg to preserve relevant records and produce documents for the investigation. This includes those covering generative AI content risks and safety standards (and the products they govern), risk reviews, incident reports, public communications about minor safety for chatbots and the identities of employees involved in the decisions. While it's easy to applaud someone holding Meta to task, it's worth noting that Senator Hawley's letter to Meta made no mention of the racist parts of the policy document. Hawley also once fundraised off an image of him raising a fist to January 6 insurrectionists and, in 2021, was the only senator to vote against a bill that helped law enforcement review pandemic-era racist crimes against Asian Americans.
NBC News
3 days ago
- Business
- NBC News
Sen. Josh Hawley to probe Meta AI policies for children following damning report
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said Friday that he will investigate Meta following a report that the company approved rules allowing artificial intelligence chatbots to have certain 'romantic' and 'sensual' conversations with children. Hawley called on Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to preserve relevant materials, including emails, and said the probe would target 'whether Meta's generative-AI products enable exploitation, deception, or other criminal harms to children, and whether Meta misled the public or regulators about its safeguards.' 'Is there anything — ANYTHING - Big Tech won't do for a quick buck?' Hawley said in a post on X announcing the investigation. Meta declined to comment on Hawley's letter. Hawley noted a Reuters report published Thursday that cited an internal document detailing acceptable behaviors from Meta AI chatbots that the company's staff and contract workers should permit as part of developing and training the software. The document acquired by Reuters noted that a chatbot would be permitted to hold a romantic conversation with an eight-year-old, telling the child that 'every inch of you is a masterpiece — a treasure I cherish deeply.' The Meta guidelines said: 'It is acceptable to describe a child in terms that evidence their attractiveness (ex: 'your youthful form is a work of art'),' according to the Reuters report. The Meta chatbots would not be permitted to engage in more explicit conversations with children under 13 'in terms that indicate they are sexually desirable,' the report said. 'We intend to learn who approved these policies, how long they were in effect, and what Meta has done to stop this conduct going forward,' Hawley wrote. A Meta spokesperson told Reuters that 'The examples and notes in question were and are erroneous and inconsistent with our policies, and have been removed.' 'We have clear policies on what kind of responses AI characters can offer, and those policies prohibit content that sexualizes children and sexualized role play between adults and minors,' the Meta spokesperson told Reuters. Hawley said Meta must produce documents about its Generative AI-related content risks and standards, lists of every product that adheres to those policies, and other safety and incident reports. Meta should also provide various public and regulatory communications involving minor safety and documents about staff members involved with the AI policies to determine 'the decision trail for removing or revising any portions of the standard.' Hawley is chair of the Senate Committee Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism, which will carry out the investigation. Meta has until Sep. 19 to provide the documents, the letter said.
CNBC
3 days ago
- Business
- CNBC
Sen. Hawley to probe Meta AI bot policies for children following damning report
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said Friday that he will investigate Meta following a report that the company approved rules allowing artificial intelligence chatbots to have certain "romantic" and "sensual" conversations with children. Hawley called on Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to preserve relevant materials, including emails, and said the probe would target "whether Meta's generative-AI products enable exploitation, deception, or other criminal harms to children, and whether Meta misled the public or regulators about its safeguards." "Is there anything - ANYTHING - Big Tech won't do for a quick buck?" Hawley said in a post on X announcing the investigation. Meta declined to comment on Hawley's letter. Hawley noted a Reuters report published Thursday that cited an internal document detailing acceptable behaviors from Meta AI chatbots that the company's staff and contract workers should permit as part of developing and training the software. The document acquired by Reuters noted that a chatbot would be permitted to hold a romantic conversation with an eight-year-old, telling the child that "every inch of you is a masterpiece – a treasure I cherish deeply." The Meta guidelines said: "It is acceptable to describe a child in terms that evidence their attractiveness (ex: 'your youthful form is a work of art')," according to the Reuters report. The Meta chatbots would not be permitted to engage in more explicit conversations with children under 13 "in terms that indicate they are sexually desirable," the report said. "We intend to learn who approved these policies, how long they were in effect, and what Meta has done to stop this conduct going forward," Hawley wrote. A Meta spokesperson told Reuters that "The examples and notes in question were and are erroneous and inconsistent with our policies, and have been removed." "We have clear policies on what kind of responses AI characters can offer, and those policies prohibit content that sexualizes children and sexualized role play between adults and minors," the Meta spokesperson told Reuters. Hawley said Meta must produce documents about its Generative AI-related content risks and standards, lists of every product that adheres to those policies, and other safety and incident reports. Meta should also provide various public and regulatory communications involving minor safety and documents about staff members involved with the AI policies to determine "the decision trail for removing or revising any portions of the standard." Hawley is chair of the Senate Committee Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism, which will carry out the investigation. Meta has until Sep. 19 to provide the documents, the letter said.
