Today, Meta is unveiling its vision to support parents in guiding their teens through interactions with AI. New controls will allow parents to monitor and manage how their teens engage with AI characters. AI offers teens opportunities to learn skills such as coding and graphic design while staying connected with friends. Recognizing the challenges parents face in ensuring safe internet use, Meta aims to provide tools and resources to simplify this process, especially regarding AI technology.
New Parental Controls
Meta is introducing supervision tools to enhance parental oversight of teens' AI interactions. Key updates include:
- Disabling one-on-one AI chats: Parents can completely turn off their teen's access to AI characters while keeping Meta's AI assistant available for educational purposes.
- Blocking specific AI characters: Parents can selectively block certain AI characters without restricting all AI access.
- Insights into AI interactions: Parents will receive information about the topics their teens discuss with AI, facilitating informed conversations about these experiences.
Existing Protections for Teens
Meta has implemented age-appropriate safeguards in its AI features, ensuring compliance with PG-13 ratings. Key protections include:
- AI characters are restricted from discussing sensitive topics like self-harm or disordered eating and will guide teens to appropriate resources when necessary.
- Teens can only interact with a limited selection of AI characters focused on suitable subjects such as education and hobbies.
- Parents can monitor their teens' interactions and set time limits on app usage, including AI chats.
Future Developments
As AI technology evolves, Meta is committed to continuously improving protections for teens. New parental supervision controls will begin rolling out early next year, starting with Instagram and initially in English for users in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia. Meta emphasizes the importance of adapting to parents' concerns while ensuring teens can benefit from AI within a safe framework.
