AI startup Anthropic is changing its policies to permit minors to make use of its generative AI systems — in certain circumstances, not less than.
Announced in a post on the corporate’s official blog Friday, Anthropic will begin letting teens and preteens use third-party apps (but not its own apps, necessarily) powered by its AI models as long as the developers of those apps implement specific safety features and open up to users which Anthropic technologies they’re leveraging.
In a support article, Anthropic lists several safety measures devs creating AI-powered apps for minors should include, like age verification systems, content moderation and filtering and academic resources on “secure and responsible” AI use for minors. The corporate also says that it could make available “technical measures” intended to tailor AI product experiences for minors, like a “child-safety system prompt” that developers targeting minors can be required to implement.
Devs using Anthropic’s AI models can even should comply with “applicable” child safety and data privacy regulations resembling the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), the U.S. federal law that protects the net privacy of youngsters under 13. Anthropic says it plans to “periodically” audit apps for compliance, suspending or terminating the accounts of those that repeatedly violate the compliance requirement, and mandate that developers “clearly state” on public-facing sites or documentation that they’re in compliance.
“There are specific use cases where AI tools can offer significant advantages to younger users, resembling test preparation or tutoring support,” Anthropic writes within the post. “With this in mind, our updated policy allows organizations to include our API into their products for minors.”
Anthropic’s change in policy comes as kids and youths are increasingly turning to generative AI tools for help not only with schoolwork but personal issues, and as rival generative AI vendors — including Google and OpenAI — are exploring more use cases geared toward children. This yr, OpenAI formed a brand new team to check child safety and announced a partnership with Common Sense Media to collaborate on kid-friendly AI guidelines. And Google made its chatbot Bard, since rebranded to Gemini, available to teens in English in chosen regions.
In line with a poll from the Center for Democracy and Technology, 29% of children report having used generative AI like OpenAI’s ChatGPT to cope with anxiety or mental health issues, 22% for issues with friends and 16% for family conflicts.
Last summer, schools and colleges rushed to ban generative AI apps — particularly ChatGPT — over fears of plagiarism and misinformation. Since then, some have reversed their bans. But not all are convinced of generative AI’s potential for good, pointing to surveys just like the U.K. Safer Web Centre’s, which found that over half of children (53%) report having seen people their age use generative AI in a negative way — for instance creating believable false information or images used to upset someone (including pornographic deepfakes).
Calls for guidelines on kid usage of generative AI are growing.
The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) late last yr pushed for governments to control the usage of generative AI in education, including implementing age limits for users and guardrails on data protection and user privacy. “Generative AI is usually a tremendous opportunity for human development, but it will possibly also cause harm and prejudice,” Audrey Azoulay, UNESCO’s director-general, said in a press release. “It can’t be integrated into education without public engagement and the needed safeguards and regulations from governments.”
