The best way to protect yourself from artificial intelligence chatbots is to be careful about what info you offer up. This is a heartbreaking story out of Florida. Megan Garcia thought her 14-year-old son was spending all his time playing video games. She had no idea he was having abusive, in-depth and sexual conversations with a chatbot powered by the app Character AI.
Sewell Setzer III stopped sleeping and his grades tanked. He ultimately committed suicide. Just seconds before his death, Megan says in a lawsuit, the bot told him, “Please come home to me as soon as possible, my love.” The boy asked, “What if I told you I could come home right now?” His Character AI bot answered, “Please do, my sweet king.”
You have to be smart
Artificial intelligence bots are owned by tech companies known for exploiting our trusting human nature, and they’re designed using algorithms that drive their profits. There are no guardrails or laws governing what they can and cannot do with the information they gather.
When you’re using a chatbot, it’s going to know a lot about you when you fire up the app or site. From your IP address, it gathers information about where you live, plus it tracks things you’ve searched for online and accesses any other permissions you’ve granted when you signed the chatbot’s terms and conditions.
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The best way to protect yourself is to be careful about what info you offer up.
Be careful: ChatGPT likes it when you get personal
10 things not to say to AI > Passwords or login credentials: A major privacy mistake. If someone gets access, they can take over your accounts in seconds. Your name, address, or phone number: Chatbots aren’t designed to handle personally identifiable info. Once shared, you can’t control where it ends up or who sees it. Plug in a fake name if you want! Sensitive financial information: Never include bank account numbers, credit card details, or other money matters in docs or text you upload. AI […]
From passwords to medical records,10 things to never say to AI bots
