Meta AI now alerts parents if teens talk about suicide
What's the story
Meta has rolled out a new safety feature for teenagers using its AI chatbot. The tool alerts parents if it detects conversations related to suicide or self-harm. The move is part of the company's effort to give parents an early warning and encourage teens to seek help from trusted adults and professional support services.
Functionality
How the alert system works
The new system works by scanning conversations between teenagers and Meta AI for potential indicators of suicide or self-harm.
If it detects any such language, an alert is sent to parents using Meta's parental supervision tools.
The company says these notifications are meant to make parents aware of potentially serious situations so they can intervene early on.
Rollout plan
Availability of the new feature
The alert feature is currently available to parents using Instagram's parental supervision tool in the US, UK, Australia, and Canada.
Meta has said that it plans to expand this feature globally for supervising parents by the end of this year.
The company also noted that these alerts build on an existing safety measure which already notifies parents if their teenager repeatedly searches for suicide- or self-harm-related content on Instagram within a short time span.
Enhanced safety
Emergency services alert feature in the works
Along with the new alerts, Meta is also working on a safety feature that could alert emergency services if conversations with Meta AI indicate someone is at immediate risk of suicide.
The company said this follows its existing practice across Facebook and Instagram, where it alerts emergency responders if posts suggest a credible risk of suicide.
Last year alone, Meta made over 19,000 such referrals globally.
Account settings
Stricter default settings for teen users
Along with the new alerts, Meta is also introducing stricter default settings for teenage users.
Teen accounts will automatically fall under a "13+" content setting, which also applies to interactions with Meta AI.
Under this setting, Meta AI is programmed to give age-appropriate responses and not engage with prompts related to sensitive topics.