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Miller-Meeks says it’s time for ‘clear standards’ for chatbots
Iowa Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks has joined with fellow Republicans and Democrats on a U.S. House committee to raise concerns about chatbots.
“We know that older individuals have less trust, but that younger individuals who have grown up in a world connected remotely, or by the internet, have greater trust in these systems,” Miller-Meeks said Wednesday.
During a Capitol Hill hearing on the issue, Miller-Meeks cited a New York Times story about a California teen with suicidal thoughts who confided in a chatbot rather than humans and took his own life in April. The 16-year-old’s parents are suing Open AI, the company behind ChatGPT, alleging the company’s chatbot turned into their son’s “suicide coach.”
“The tragic story of Adam Raine, as reported by the New York Times, has ignited a difficult, but urgent conversation about the role of A.I. in mental health support,” Miller-Meeks said.
In a statement to national media, a spokesperson for OpenAI said the company is “working to make its chatbot more supportive in times of crisis by making it easier to reach emergency services.” Miller-Meeks said while Artificial Intelligence has tremendous potential in health care, A.I. is “not a doctor,” it is “not a therapist” and it “cannot replace parents, family” or the human connections young people need.
“And we know that they’re looking towards at the same time the internet and social media platforms to address loneliness and isolation and connectivity exacerbated by the pandemic,” Miller-Meeks said, “but it’s also a source of bullying and threats to them.”
Miller-Meeks said while A.I. shows “tremendous potential in health care,” unregulated chatbots can mislead and it’s time for “clear standards so innovations save lives without putting patients at risk.”
