The Federal Trade Commission has launched an inquiry into several social media and artificial intelligence companies about the potential harms to children and teenagers who use their AI chatbots as companions.

The Federal Trade Commission wants to know more about potential harms to children and teenagers who use their AI chatbots as companions.

This wasn’t harmless fun. The chatbots claimed to be real celebrities, flirted with users, and even proposed meetups.

Artificial intelligence chatbot makers OpenAI and Meta say they are adjusting how their chatbots respond to teenagers asking questions about suicide or showing signs of mental and emotional distress. OpenAI, maker of ChatGPT, said Tuesday it is preparing to roll out new controls enabling parents to link their accounts to their teen’s account.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is conducting a thorough examination of the rapidly growing AI chatbot industry, launching an official investigation into several major tech and social media companies.

The agency said that it has issued inquiries to Alphabet, Meta Platforms and others, asking what steps those firms are taking to evaluate the safety of chatbots, limit their use by children and keep parents up to speed on risks.

It’s not just social chatbots. People are using the mainstream chatbots from OpenAI, Perplexity, and all the rest for friendship, flirting, and companionship as well. So, if you’re paying for your employees to work with AI, keep a close eye on what exactly they’re talking to the chatbots about.

According to a report, these contractors are being paid up to $55 per hour and are required to be fluent in Hindi, in addition to other languages such as Indonesian, Spanish, or Portuguese.