Tech Companies Want to Rein in Chatbots Before Congress Does

OTI Senior Policy Analyst Sydney Saubestre was quoted in a POLITICO piece about AI chatbots and children's online safety.

Sydney Saubestre, a senior policy analyst at Open Technology Institute, a part of the left-leaning think tank New America, says there is currently no commercially reasonable way to determine whether a user is a minor or an adult without collecting sensitive personal data, like government issued identification. She worries that repeat verifications would multiply the opportunities for that data to be exposed.

“We absolutely need stronger safeguards to prevent AI chatbots from engaging in harmful or inappropriate interactions with both youth and adults,” she said. “But mandating age verification technology before it’s privacy-protective would do more harm than good. Protecting children and protecting privacy must go hand in hand.”