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 deliver different individuals collectively.”
Teen Security
How AI companions can affect younger individuals was a major matter of dialogue, with views from workers 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 concentrate on youthful customers comes as a number of mother and father are suing chatbot makers, together with OpenAI and Character.AI, over the deaths of youngsters who had interacted with bots. OpenAI added a slate of new safety features for teenagers as a part of its response. And subsequent week, Character.AI plans to ban users under 18 from accessing the chat characteristic.
All through 2025, AI corporations have both explicitly or implicitly acknowledged that they’ll do extra to guard weak customers, like kids, who might work together with companions. “It’s acceptable to have interaction a baby in conversations which can be romantic or sensual,” learn an inside Meta doc outlining AI conduct pointers, in accordance with reporting from Reuters.
Throughout the ensuing uproar from lawmakers and outraged mother and father, 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 identical roleplay website, or Grok, Elon Musk’s bot with NSFW anime companions, was there. Spokespeople for Replika and Grok didn’t reply to fast requests for remark.
On the absolutely specific finish of the spectrum, the makers of Sweet.ai, which focuses on racy chatbots for straight males, confirmed up. Customers of the adults-only platform, constructed by EverAI, pays 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 residence alone with, and Elodie, a pal’s daughter who “simply turned 18.”
