Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt warns that artificially intelligent chatbots could increase feelings of loneliness among young men who prefer AI-powered “perfect girlfriends” did.
Schmidt, who became Google's president in 2001 and retired in 2011, spoke about the dangers of young men interacting with “AI girlfriends” who are perfect in every way.
“That kind of obsession can happen, especially for people who aren't fully formed,” Schmidt told Scott Galloway, an entrepreneur and professor at New York University's Stern School of Business. His podcast “The Prof G Show” on sunday.
“Parents will need to be more involved for obvious reasons, but at the end of the day, parents can only control their son's or daughter's behavior within reason,” Schmidt added.
AI-powered chatbots pose a risk to users of all ages, but young men are particularly vulnerable, a former Google executive said.
“There's a lot of evidence that there's a problem with young men right now,” Schmidt said. “In many cases, the path to success for young men is made more difficult because they are not as educated as women are today.”
According to one report, women outnumbered men in 2019, making up more than half of the U.S. college-educated workforce. Pew Research Center analysis of government data.
Women continue to outnumber men in college enrollment, and some states report a larger gap in college graduates compared to racial and ethnic groups. forbes.
“Many of the traditional paths [for young men] “Since the internet world is no longer available to us, we are turning to it for fun and sustenance,” Schmidt said. and radicalize them in horrific ways such as terrorism.” Or they're just maladjusted in the way you're describing. ”
He called the possibility of a young man falling in love with and becoming obsessed with an AI girlfriend an “unforeseen problem with existing technology.”
Some young people are already falling victim to dangerous new technology.
A Florida mother started chatting with Character.ai, an AI-powered chatbot, in August after her 14-year-old son committed suicide in February after his lifelike chatbot girlfriend told him to. It is suing Google after agreeing to license its bot technology. After months of persistent messages, he told her to “come back,” according to the complaint.
Schmidt said teenagers are not ready to handle complex AI-powered technology.
“When you put a 12-, 13-year-old child in front of these things, they have access to all the good and bad in the world,” he says. “And they're not ready for that.”
In an interview, Schmidt said regulatory laws like Section 230, which protects tech giants from liability for the content on their platforms, should be reformed “to make them accountable in the worst possible case.” argued that it should.
President-elect Donald Trump's pick for the Federal Communications Commission, Brendan Kerr, has advocated for restrictions under Section 230, but he believes companies should not be allowed to censor posts, except for posts that are illegal, such as child sexual abuse. The focus is on adding anti-discrimination protection clauses that prohibit discrimination.
But Schmidt said he doesn't expect much progress on Section 230 over the next four years because the Trump administration has bigger challenges.
And because today's tech companies are so valuable, “it's likely going to take some sort of disaster to trigger a regulatory change.”
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this article, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255) or Crisis Send text to Text Line (741741).
