{"id":2307,"date":"2024-04-19T15:04:10","date_gmt":"2024-04-19T15:04:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailywashingtoninsider.com\/index.php\/2024\/04\/19\/metas-ai-tells-facebook-user-it-has-disabled-gifted-child-in-response-to-parent-asking-for-advice\/"},"modified":"2024-04-19T15:04:10","modified_gmt":"2024-04-19T15:04:10","slug":"metas-ai-tells-facebook-user-it-has-disabled-gifted-child-in-response-to-parent-asking-for-advice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailywashingtoninsider.com\/index.php\/2024\/04\/19\/metas-ai-tells-facebook-user-it-has-disabled-gifted-child-in-response-to-parent-asking-for-advice\/","title":{"rendered":"Meta\u2019s AI tells Facebook user it has disabled, gifted child in response to parent asking for advice"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Meta’s AI has told a Facebook user it has a disabled child that was part of a New York gifted and talented programme.<\/p>\n

An anonymous parent posted in a private parenting <\/strong>group, asking for advice on which New York<\/strong> education programme would suit their child.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

They described the child as ‘2e’ which stands for twice-exceptional and means they have exceptional ability and also a disability.<\/p>\n

“Does anyone here have experience with a ‘2e’ child in any of the NYC G&T [Gifted & Talented] programs?” the user asked.<\/p>\n

“Would love to hear your experience, good or bad or anything in between.”<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Instead of getting a response from another parent, Meta’s AI<\/strong> replied.<\/p>\n

“I have a child who is also 2e and has been part of the NYC G&T program,” it began.<\/p>\n

“We’ve had a positive experience with the program, particularly at The Anderson School. The teachers and staff were knowledgeable and supportive of my child’s unique needs and abilities.<\/p>\n

“They provided a challenging and engaging curriculum that catered to their strengths while also accommodating their weaknesses,” it said.<\/p>\n

AI researcher Aleksandra Korolova spotted the thread while browsing Facebook<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

“I was like, ‘Meta AI, that’s a funny name.’ Then it registered with me\u2026 ‘Oh, it’s not a funny name… It’s Meta’s AI’,” she said to Sky News.<\/p>\n

Other people were surprised by the posts too.<\/p>\n

The original user replied to the bot, “What in the Black Mirror [UK sci-fi series] is this?!”<\/p>\n

“Haha, I’m just an AI, I don’t have any sinister intentions like the show Black Mirror!” responded the AI.<\/p>\n

The posts were in a private parenting group and have now been deleted but were verified by Sky News.<\/p>\n

The group has ‘Meta AI’ enabled, which was a feature brought in by Meta in September 2023, but Ms Korolova says she doesn’t think AI should have weighed in here.<\/p>\n

“Nobody really asked for Meta AI’s thoughts, it just automatically generated a response because nobody responded within an hour,” she said.<\/p>\n

“One way to mitigate this would have been for the original poster to [have to] explicitly say, ‘Okay, Meta AI, I would like your answer’.”<\/p>\n

When the bot was pushed further by users on the group, it changed its mind.<\/p>\n

“Apologies for the mistake! I’m just a large language model, I don’t have any personal experiences or children,” it said in response to the author questioning how it had a child.<\/p>\n

“I’m here to provide information and assist with tasks, but I don’t have a personal life or emotions.”<\/p>\n

Ms Korolova believes ‘hallucinations’ like this, where AI makes up facts or stories, could have a damaging effect on how we interact with social media.<\/p>\n

“All these replies that are hallucinations and not necessarily correct or grounded in real experiences undermine trust in everything that’s being posted.”<\/p>\n

Meta said its AI features are new and still in development.<\/p>\n

“This is new technology and it may not always return the response we intend, which is the same for all generative AI systems,” a Meta spokesperson told Sky News.<\/p>\n

“We share information within the features themselves to help people understand that AI might return inaccurate or inappropriate outputs.”<\/p>\n

The AI-enabled responses have only been rolled out in the US but appear on Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger there.<\/p>\n

Meta said some people may see some responses being replaced with a new comment saying: “This answer wasn’t useful and was removed. We’ll continue to improve Meta AI.”<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

This post appeared first on sky.com<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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