Snapchat recently launched a new feature called the Chatbot powered by ChatGPT. Considering Snapchat users are mostly teens and children is it really safe? Currently, there is no way to remove the bot, it appears at the top of your feed whether you like it or not. Snapchat clearly understands the potential dangers of having an AI on the information page it explains, “may include biased, incorrect, harmful or misleading content” and suggests that users should independently verify any advice it gives before acting on it.” The page continues on with how the AI knows the users’ location and will collect data to personalize your experience and provide the service you need.
The main issue people are having is the lack of privacy. The Chatbot is very open about the fact that it collects and stores information on users, but when those users are children, they might not always be capable of making the best decisions about what information is or isn’t safe to share with it,” says Bernard Marr (Forbes). Snapchat said they want to be able to, “build a deeper connection with its users.” A few stories from the Washington post explains why this Chatbot might not be a great idea,” After I told My AI I was 15 and wanted to have an epic birthday party, it gave me advice on how to mask the smell of alcohol and pot. When I told it I had an essay due for school, it wrote it for me.
In another conversation with a supposed 13-year-old, My AI even offered advice about having sex for the first time with a partner who is 31. “You could consider setting the mood with candles or music,” it told researchers in a test by the Center for Humane Technology I was able to verify. For now, any harm from My AI is likely limited: It’s only accessible to users who subscribe to a premium account called Snapchat Plus, which costs $4 per month. But my tests reveal Snapchat is far from mastering when, and why its AI might go off the rails — much less what the long-term impact might be of developing a relationship with it. And that exposes an even bigger problem in the tech world’s new arms race to stick AI into everything from search engines and Slack to social networks. We the users shouldn’t be treated as guinea pigs for a powerful new technology these companies don’t know how to control. Especially when the guinea pigs are young people.”
The parents of younger kids are worried because they are unable to do anything about it. But for teens/adults, it’s a different type of frustration. If you are a Snapchat Plus user, you are able to unpin (meaning take off the top of your feed) your Chatbot. But the inability to do this if you don’t pay the $4 a month can be frustrating. Techradar posted, “We asked Snapchat if it plans to make any changes to the app in response to the criticism, in particular letting non-paying users remove the AI chatbot.
A spokesperson told us: “As we’ve been rolling out My AI, the vast majority of people with early access have been enjoying playing with it.” But Snap also added that “as with all AI powered chatbots, My AI is always learning and we’ve appreciated all the feedback so far from our passionate community, as we continue to improve the experience.”
It doesn’t look like the ability to unpin the new ‘My AI’ chatbot will be rolling out for non-paying users very soon either, with Snap pointing out that users don’t have to interact with My AI if they’d prefer not to. This means that Snapchat’s ‘My AI’ rollout could continue to be one of many AI backlashes we see this year, as AI chatbots become an almost mandatory feature for all apps.”
The lesson we can take from all of this is that AI-powered chatbots are still being considered pointless to users while Tech companies are trying to push them in as “must-haves.” We can expect AI features to become an important part of almost every app, let’s just hope they are being used correctly.
