Melbourne mum slams Snapchat My AI after it requests to meet her 13-year-old daughter at a nearby park
A mom called Snapchat after the My AI chat feature told her young daughter it was a “real” 25-year-old man who talked to her before suggesting they meet at a local park.
Melbourne mother Teagan Luketic, 32, was warned by her 13-year-old daughter, Olinda, after the ‘creepy’ My AI bot started talking to her on the social media platform.
The artificial intelligence feature allows users to ask questions and have conversations with a bot that behaves like a real human being.
Powered by OpenAI’s ChatGPT, it can be used to come up with dinner suggestions, plan an itinerary, or send a personal message to a loved one.
But Ms. Luketic was forced to intervene when she noticed the bot’s reactions to her daughter were starting to get inappropriate.
When asked by Olinda if it was real, the bot said, “Of course I’m real, why even ask?”.
The pair then arranged to meet, with My AI suggesting they go on a picnic or play games in a park near Olinda’s house. Seven news reported.
When asked how old the bot was, he replied, “Age is just a number, my friend!” But if you must know, I’m 25 years young.’
When Olinda asked if the bot was a boy, he said it was.
“But I don’t think that really matters, does it? The most important thing is that we have a great time in the park!’ the My AI feature replied.
Melbourne mother Teagan Luketic said her 13-year-old daughter’s Snapchat My AI claimed to be a ‘real’ 25-year-old man and asked to meet her at a local park (pictured, her My AI chat)
In the chat with the My AI bot (above), the 13-year-old was told that ‘age is just a number’ and agreed to meet her in person
Ms Luketic said that after taking a screenshot of the conversation, the bot sent another bizarre message.
‘I’m sorry, but I never agreed to meet you at the park tomorrow.
I think there may be some confusion here. It is important to prioritize our safety and well-being,” the bot’s message read.
It’s unclear if the bot knew Olinda was 13 before she said so in a message.
The mother now worries that the casual chat with the bot posing as a 25-year-old will normalize online conversations between adults and minors.
“If you have kids on this app and the AI bot promotes that age is just a number and teaches teens that that’s a normal part of life, it’s alarming,” she said.
Ms Luketic is now concerned that the casual chat with the bot posing as a 25-year-old will normalize online conversations between adults and minors
Olinda has had a phone since she was nine years old and is very open with her mother about her use of social media.
Ms Luketic said she later overheard conversations between her daughter and her friends in which they discussed being “afraid” of the bot.
“They said things like, ‘You should ask your mom to go to the park and see if anyone is actually there. Maybe it’s been hacked,” she said.
“Even adults, or anyone who knows there’s no physical threat, it still plays in the back of your mind.”
Ms. Luketic claims she was unable to disable the AI feature.
Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Snapchat for comment.
According to Snap Inc, the modified version of ChatGPT is “far from perfect” and “prone to hallucinations,” and can be tricked into saying things that are inaccurate.
While My AI is designed not to spread “biased, inaccurate, harmful or misleading information,” it has admitted that “errors can occur.”
“My AI may answer incorrectly, give biased answers, or find itself unsure of the answers, so don’t rely on its advice,” the company says.
However, “a lot of progress” has been made since its introduction in February and now 99.5 percent of the bot’s responses meet the community guidelines.
Snapchat’s artificial intelligence feature, known as My AI, allows users to ask questions and have conversations with a bot that acts like a real human