Parents testify on the impact of AI chatbots: ‘Our children are not experiments’

Parents and online safety advocates on Tuesday urged Congress to push for more safeguards around artificial intelligence chatbots, claiming tech companies designed their products to “hook” children. “The truth is, AI companies and their investors have understood for years that capturing our children’s emotional dependence means market dominance,” said Megan Garcia, a Florida mom who last year sued the chatbot platform Character.AI, claiming one of its AI companions initiated sexual interactions with her teenage son and persuaded him to take his own life. “Indeed, they have intentionally designed their products to hook our children,” she told lawmakers. “The goal was...