Do AI Chatbots Have First Amendment Rights?
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Welcome to “The Know,” a look at the latest no-hype news with contextualized commentary prefaced with a 🎙️ emoji. Let’s go
Last week a judge rejected an argument by Character.AI to dismiss a lawsuit. The company was sued by a Florida mom whose son ended his life after a months long online relationship with an AI chatbot. Character.AI claimed its chatbots have First Amendment protection.
🎙️ Tell me your thoughts on this one. Should chatbots/machines (and soon robots) have First Amendment protected speech? We’ve covered this lawsuit since it was filed. Check out The Thin Line Between Fiction and Reality.
The antitrust case against Meta wrapped on Tuesday. The FTC wants Meta to divest Instagram and WhatsApp. Judge James Boasberg is expected to make a ruling by the end of the year.
🎙️ If Meta loses, it will appeal. We won’t see a breakup anytime soon. The trial revealed minors made up 27% of Instagram follow recommendations to adults described as “groomers” in 2019. Don’t miss Meta’s Prior Predator Problem.
A bipartisan group of forty attorneys general asked Congress to remove the moratorium in the current version of the “One Big Beautiful Bill” that attempts to prohibit states from regulating AI (with minor exceptions) for the next 10 years.
🎙️ The idea of the moratorium is to pass legislation at a federal level instead of a patchwork of state laws, but recent history says future federal AI regulation is fantasy. Congress hasn’t been able to update a 27 year old online privacy protection law while states have passed a slew of recent tech laws.
With details closely guarded, Former Apple designer Jony Ive and OpenAI are developing an AI companion device that fits in a pocket.
🎙️ The Wall Street Journal reports the product “will be capable of being fully aware of a user’s surroundings and life.” Privacy will likely be a key concern.