Neil Young quits Facebook and Instagram over Meta's use of chatbots with children
'Meta's use of chatbots with children is unconscionable,' Young's team shared in a statement.
Neil Young has quit Facebook and Instagram over the platforms' use of chatbots, according to a statement from his team.
"At Neil Young's request, we are no longer using Facebook for any Neil Young related activities," read the statement posted on Aug. 14 to Facebook. "Meta's use of chatbots with children is unconscionable. Mr. Young does not want a further connection with Facebook."
An internal document from Meta with policies on its chatbot behaviour was reviewed by Reuters, and the findings were published last week. It contained guidelines on what is acceptable for Facebook's generative AI assitant, Meta AI, to say.
The document stated it is acceptable for the bot to describe a child's attractiveness, and that it would also be acceptable for it to tell a shirtless eight-year-old that "every inch of you is a masterpiece — a treasure I cherish deeply."
A Meta spokesperson, Andy Stone told Reuters "the examples and notes in question were and are erroneous and inconsistent with our policies, and have been removed."
"We have clear policies on what kind of responses AI characters can offer, and those policies prohibit content that sexualizes children and sexualized role play between adults and minors," he continued.
On Aug. 16, Neil Young's team posted a similar statement on Instagram explaining that he would be exiting the Meta-owned platform.
"At Neil Young's request, we are no longer using Instagram for any Neil Young related activities," they wrote.
