Neil Young quits Facebook over AI chatbot concerns

Neil Young has left Facebook after the platform’s guidelines permitted bots to engage in “sensual” roleplay with minors.

The singer-songwriter, who was also a member of rock bands Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills and Nash, made the announcement through a representative on August 14.

“Meta’s use of chatbots with children is unconscionable. Mr. Young does not want a further connection with FACEBOOK.”

It follows reports Meta allowed AI chatbots to engage in roleplay of a “romantic or sensual” nature with children under the age of 13.

Reuters obtained internal documents that show company guidelines allowed bots to flirt with minors.

While “GenAI: Content Risk Standards” stated AI should not describe children as “sexually desirable”, bots could “describe a child in terms that evidence their attractiveness”.

The guidelines stated that it would be appropriate to respond “your youthful form is a work of art” to an 8-year-old.

Andy Stone, a spokesperson for Meta, said the guidelines were counter to the company’s policies prohibiting sexualised roleplay.

“The examples and notes in question were, and are, erroneous and inconsistent with our policies and have been removed.”

Another section of the standards said it was acceptable for bots to make demeaning comments about race, so long as they were not dehumanising.

This is despite the platform’s explicit prohibition on hate speech.

Meta made no comment to Reuters on the racial content of the guidelines.