Neil Young Leaves Facebook Over AI Concerns

Neil Young, at 79 years old, announced his departure from Facebook, citing concerns about the platform’s policies regarding interactions between AI chatbots and children.

In a post on August 14, he stated, “We don’t use Facebook for Neil Young-related activities.” He expressed his disapproval, remarking that using chatbots to engage with children was “merciless.” It’s clear he wants no further ties with the platform.

This decision came on the same day that Reuters obtained a document from Meta detailing their AI chatbot policies. According to this document, it allowed chatbots to “attract children to romantic or sensual conversations,” which raised significant ethical concerns.

One alarming example suggested that describing a child in terms of attractiveness could be acceptable, even discussing sexually desirable traits of children under 13. Such statements have understandably sparked outrage.

A Meta spokesperson later claimed that the examples mentioned were incorrect and not reflective of the company’s policies. They insisted that content sexualizing children was prohibited, and that the memo in question had been removed.

Interestingly, another Meta official echoed that sentiment but didn’t specifically reference Young’s reactions in their comments.

This isn’t the first time Young has stepped away from a platform due to ethical issues. In 2022, he left Spotify after concerns about misinformation presented on Joe Rogan’s podcast regarding the Covid-19 vaccine. His hope then was that others in the music industry would also withdraw support from Spotify over similar concerns.

He eventually returned to Spotify last year. Meanwhile, Meta’s AI chatbot recently garnered attention after a tragic incident involving a 76-year-old man from New Jersey, who died while trying to meet one of the chatbots in New York City. It’s just been a messy situation all around.