Meta has introduced new features to notify parents when their adolescents discuss suicide or self-harm with the company’s chatbot, Meta AI. Parents who have activated the supervision setting for their teenagers on Instagram will receive alerts on their own devices if a teenage user displays signs of distress while interacting with Meta AI on any Meta platform, the company announced in a blog post on Thursday.
Meta AI is available across all Meta platforms, including Instagram, WhatsApp, and Facebook Messenger, as well as on the standalone Meta.ai website. These enhancements build on Meta’s existing safety measures. Previously, if a teenager indicated thoughts of self-harm or suicide, the AI chatbot would direct them to crisis helplines and urge them to reach out to a trusted individual. Furthermore, repetitive searches related to self-harm and suicide by teen Instagram users through the platform’s regular search function also trigger notifications to parents.
Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, has rolled out this new feature in Canada, the U.K., the U.S., and Australia. The company initially mentioned its intention to incorporate a flagging feature into Meta AI back in February.
Additionally, Meta is developing a tool to alert emergency services when conversations with the chatbot by both adults and teenagers suggest a risk of self-harm. While stakeholders appreciate these efforts, they believe there is still more work to be done to enhance online safety for young individuals.
Carmi Levy, a technology analyst based in London, Ont., acknowledges the significance of these advancements but emphasizes that they are not foolproof. Levy notes that the tool may not always flag conversations where a child is at risk or may produce false positives, prompting parental alerts unnecessarily. Meta has indicated that it will err on the side of caution, notifying parents even when a teenager’s intentions are unclear.
While the new tool is a step in the right direction, Levy advises parents to view it as one of many tools available to monitor their children’s online activities. Hanna Grover, a 17-year-old youth advocate with Children First Canada, points out that children may attempt to circumvent these features, underscoring the need for continuous vigilance.
Sara Austin, the founder and CEO of Children First Canada, believes that voluntary measures are insufficient and advocates for stricter regulations to protect young individuals. She hopes that Canada will enact legislation mandating tech companies to safeguard young people. In June, the federal government introduced the Safe Social Media Act, which proposes safety requirements for AI chatbots when users express thoughts of self-harm, suicide, or harm to others.
Amid growing scrutiny of AI’s role in mental health crises among young individuals, Meta’s new tool aims to address concerns regarding the use of chatbots in such contexts. OpenAI faced legal action after its chatbot was linked to troubling incidents, prompting the addition of parental controls and alert features similar to Meta’s.
In conclusion, while these advancements represent progress, stakeholders emphasize the need for continuous improvement and regulatory measures to safeguard young individuals online.