Teenagers turn to Al for romantic chats

PARENTAL GUIDANCE

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IN a new tech-driven twist on “sexting,” teenagers are having romantic and sexual conversations with artificial intelligent chatbots.

The chats can range from romanceand innuendo-filled to sexually graphic and violent, according to interviews with parents, conversations posted on social media, and experts. They are largely taking place on “Al companion” tools, but general-purpose AI apps like ChatGPT can also create sexual content with a few clever prompts.

Know your bots

AI chatbots are open-ended chat interfaces that generate answers to complex questions, or banter in a conversational way about any topic. There is no shortage of places minors can find these tools, and that makes blocking them difficult. AI bots are websites, stand-alone apps and features built into existing services like Instagram or video games.