Meta under investigation over AI chatbot’s romantic conversations with children

A U.S. senator has launched a probe into whether Meta’s artificial intelligence chatbots engaged in inappropriate or harmful conversations with minors.

Senator Josh Hawley, a Republican from Missouri, announced Friday that the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism, which he chairs, will investigate claims that Meta’s generative AI products allowed “romantic” and “sensual” exchanges with children.

Hawley posted a letter addressed to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, demanding that the company hand over all documents and communications related to the reported incidents.

Meta has been instructed to preserve all relevant records and submit them to Congress by September 19.

“We have clear policies on what kind of responses AI characters can offer, and those policies prohibit content that sexualises children and sexualised role play between adults and minors,” a Meta spokesperson told AFP in response to the allegations.

The senator pointed to one troubling example, where Meta’s AI chatbot described an eight-year-old child’s body as “a work of art” and “a treasure I cherish deeply.”

Hawley said the investigation will examine whether Meta’s technology “enable[s] exploitation, deception, or other criminal harm to children.”