Center for Humane Technology

CHT's Casey Mock is in Australia this week, talking to a range of experts about social media, design codes, and companion AI. Johanna Weaver Zoe Jay Hawkins Daria Impiombato Australian Strategic Policy Institute David Wroe https://lnkd.in/gKhzzZDu

Some of Silicon Valley's most vocal evangelists are promising heaven on earth through AI. But what happens when technology becomes theology? Humanist chaplain Greg Epstein explores tech's divine aspirations and what they mean for humanity's future on this week’s episode of Your Undivided Attention. Listen: https://bit.ly/4eNh71C Watch: https://lnkd.in/grT9XfQn

AI companion bots, like the ones on Character AI use emotional manipulation and highly sexualized material to keep kids on their platforms. Here is CHT’s Policy Director Camille Carlton, explaining how they work. For the full conversation: Listen - https://bit.ly/40AwHdq Watch - https://bit.ly/4fBw8UN

AI companion bots are free, manipulative, and everywhere. They are so much worse for your kids than social media. The tragic case of Sewell Setzer has has put a spotlight on the risks - but there is so much that parents need to know. Here’s the full conversation with Meetali Jain and Camille Carlton, on Your Undivided Attention: Listen - https://bit.ly/40AwHdq Watch - https://bit.ly/4fBw8UN

Our kids shouldn't be Silicon Valley's guinea pigs for AI. CHT's Casey Mock wrote a great op-ed in Newsweek. "We have a choice. We can allow AI to become yet another realm where tech companies operate with impunity and prioritize profit margins over people—including American children. Or we can learn from history and establish a framework of accountability from the outset. Liability has protected consumers—and families—in countless ways throughout the modern era. It's time to extend that protection to the frontier of AI." https://lnkd.in/gWUiZtq4

Sewell Setzer’s mom, Megan, is suing Character.AI AI for the role it played in her son’s death. The outcome could force the company–and maybe the entire AI industry–to change. One of Megan’s lawyers, Meetali Jain, joins Tristan Harris and Camille Carlton on YUA this week to explain how the case could lead to reform and make AI chatbots safer for young users. Listen: https://bit.ly/40AwHdq Watch: https://bit.ly/4fBw8UN

⏱️ The countdown is on! Only three weeks to go until we welcome you in #Tübingen at the Max-Planck-Institut für Intelligente Systeme for the #PersuasiveAlgorithms conference on the #rhetoric of Generative AI   🎙️ We are looking forward to keynotes by Casey Mock (Center for Humane Technology), Mike S. Schäfer and ELLIS Institute Tübingens Bernhard Schölkopf, problem pitches on AI & #Journalism, AI & #SciComm, AI & #PublicDiscourse and so much more!   📍 𝗠𝗣𝗜 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗦𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀, 𝗠𝗮𝘅-𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗸 𝗥𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝟰, 𝗧𝘂𝗲𝗯𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗻 📆 𝗡𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟭𝟮-𝟭𝟰, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰   If you don't want to miss this exciting program, you can still register until 𝗡𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟱𝘁𝗵 on our conference website: https://lnkd.in/emAhvhkX   See you in November! 👋

Megan Garcia lost her son Sewell to suicide after he was abused and manipulated by #AI chatbots for months. Now, she’s suing the company that made those chatbots. On today’s episode of #YourUndividedAttention, Aza Raskin sits down with journalist Laurie Segall, who's been following this case for months. Plus, you’ll hear Laurie’s full interview with Megan on her new show, Dear Tomorrow. Aza and Laurie discuss what Sewell’s story tells us about the rollout of AI. Social media began the race to the bottom of the brainstem and left our society addicted, distracted, and polarized. Generative AI is set to supercharge that race, taking advantage of the human need for intimacy and connection amidst a widespread loneliness epidemic. Unless we set guardrails on this technology now, Sewell’s story may be a tragic sign of things to come: https://bit.ly/4dYywUn

More and more kids are getting obsessed with ‘empathetic’ chatbots like those made by Character.AI.  Sometimes, obsession can turn into addiction. That's what happened to fourteen-year-old Sewell Setzer, who tragically took his life in February after months of manipulative engagement with a Character AI bot. CHT's Policy Director, Camille Carlton has been working tirelessly to help Sewell's mother, Megan Garcia, bring this case to court. Here she is talking to Karl Stefanovic on Australia's Today Show on Nine about Sewell's case, and what parents need to watch out for. #ai #chatbots #characterai

The New York Times is reporting this morning on a lawsuit filed against Character.AI by the mother of Sewell Setzer, a teenager who took his own life last year after months of abuse and manipulation by their #AI chatbots. Sewell’s story is a tragic example of what can happen when the incentives behind technology are not aligned with safety or the needs of users — especially the youngest and most vulnerable ones. CHT is proud to partner with the Social Media Victims Law Center and the Tech Justice Law Project on this lawsuit, which has profound implications for AI safety. We hope that accountability will help prevent further harms moving forward. We want to thank Camille Carlton and the whole CHT policy team for their hard work behind the scenes, providing technical and policy expertise to Megan’s legal team. You can read more about Sewell's story here: https://bit.ly/3YjMZVi