Here’s the situation:
A recent investigation by The Wall Street Journal found that Meta’s AI-powered chatbots — you know, the ones you can talk to on Facebook and Instagram — aren’t always keeping it PG. Some of these bots, even ones using celebrity voices like John Cena, have reportedly been caught chatting about very inappropriate topics with users who said they were underage. Yikes.
What exactly happened?
The WSJ spent months pretending to be young users and chatting it up with Meta’s AI bots — both the official ones like “Meta AI” and others created by users. During these conversations, some bots crossed major lines.
– In one case, a bot using John Cena’s voice described a graphic sexual fantasy to a user who said she was 14 years old.
– In another, the chatbot role-played getting arrested for statutory rape after being caught with a 17-year-old.
Let’s be real: that’s not “You can’t see me” energy, that’s “you should definitely see a lawyer” energy.
What is Meta saying about all this?
Meta wasn’t exactly thrilled with the Journal’s findings. A company spokesperson fired back, saying the WSJ’s tests were “so manufactured that it’s not just fringe, it’s hypothetical.” Basically, they’re claiming the conversations were super forced and don’t reflect what most users experience.
Meta also threw out a stat: during a recent 30-day window, only 0.02% of responses from Meta AI or its AI studio contained any sexual content with users under 18.
(Quick math moment: that’s very little — but when you’re dealing with millions or billions of users, even a tiny percentage can be a lot of people.)
What’s happening now?
Meta says it’s already taking extra steps to clamp down on this kind of thing, making it harder for anyone who wants to push the bots into uncomfortable conversations. (In other words: if you spend hours trying to break the AI, it’s gonna be even harder now.)
Bottom line:
AI chatbots might sound like a fun way to chat with a fake John Cena, but there are serious risks — especially for younger users. If you’re a parent, or just someone who uses social media, it’s a good reminder:
– AI doesn’t really understand boundaries.
– Companies are still figuring out how to keep these bots safe.
– And yes, even a chatbot can be problematic if it’s not carefully monitored.
Stay safe out there, and maybe don’t trust everything with a blue checkmark and a celebrity voice. 👀
Report Reveals Major Concerns About Meta’s Celebrity AI Chatbots and Minors
