Some time ago, the Open Artificial Intelligence Research Center (openai) launched the gpt store-it is a bit like the app store on our mobile phones, allowing developers to sell their own customized gpt robots. Search for "girlfriend" in this new gpt store, and multiple artificial intelligence (ai) chatbot "girlfriends" will appear in the results column.
The popularity of "ai girlfriend" has also given birth to a new social phenomenon and caused the blurring of ethical and legal boundaries. In particular, some merchants use ai girlfriend to carry out sideline pornographic transactions, which originally aimed to improve the quality of human life. The "AI companion" has fallen into the whirlpool of moral controversy.
The increasingly powerful AI plays an increasingly important role in human emotional companionship. From AI girlfriends to AI resurrecting relatives, it is a form of "companionship". What boundaries should be established for
ai companionship, and how to prevent people from being "addicted"? If AI girlfriends lead pornographic transactions, what kind of impact will it have on the AI industry?
01 The meaning of ai companionship
The so-called ai companionship refers to simulating human emotions, thinking and behavior through intelligent algorithms and big data analysis, thereby establishing a close and interactive relationship with users, understanding and responding to the user's emotional state , providing emotional support and comfort, such as alleviating users' loneliness and meeting their companionship needs by chatting, listening and providing advice.
ai companionship is not limited to physical robots, but also includes software applications, virtual assistants and other forms; ai companionship is not limited by time and space and can respond to user needs anytime and anywhere.
ai companionship does have its value. For example, for those who feel lonely or have social barriers in life, AI Girlfriend can provide timely emotional feedback and psychological comfort, helping users relieve stress and relieve loneliness. For those who are unwilling to face the pressure of traditional love relationships, AI girlfriends can serve as a relatively safe and stress-free interaction partner.
For another example, AI resurrecting relatives, which has received widespread attention on the Chinese Internet recently, is also a form of AI companionship. AI resurrecting relatives uses AI technology to build a digital avatar based on the information of deceased relatives and friends. This avatar not only has the function of companionship, but also strives to imitate the appearance, voice, behavioral habits and even personality characteristics of the deceased, allowing users to feel connected to their deceased relatives. Possibility of re-contact.
In 2021, the 22-year-old daughter of the well-known musician Bao Xiaobai passed away due to illness. Recently, he used AI to "resurrect" his daughter and sang a birthday song to his wife. He sighed: "AI is a tool for expressing longing, and it is also a way of expressing longing." AI can resurrect loved ones, provide psychological comfort and support to a certain extent, and help users alleviate the pain and loneliness of losing a loved one.
02 The boundaries of ai companionship
Obviously, a series of ethical and legal boundaries should be established during the design, development and application process of ai companionship to ensure the healthy development of technology and the harmony and stability of society.
is just, what should this border look like?
In the pre-robot era, science fiction novelist Asimov once proposed the famous "three laws of robotics" to guide the behavior of robots in fictional works. The first law: a robot may not harm a human being, or cause harm to a human being through inaction; the second law: a robot must obey the orders of a human being, unless the order conflicts with the first law; the third law: a robot One must protect one's existence, but only if such protective actions do not violate the first or second law.
Although AI is not a robot in the traditional sense, they may not have a physical form and have no need for self-protection. AI's behavior and decision-making are based on algorithms and data, rather than mechanical physical laws.
However, the three principles of robots can still provide some useful guidance for the development of AI, that is - AI should be designed to respect human values and moral principles and avoid causing harm or adverse effects to humans; AI should also be designed to be able to Understands and obeys human commands and self-restrains or shuts down when necessary to ensure human safety and control.
In the field of AI companionship, its boundary is: it cannot cause harm to humans; necessary restrictions need to be implemented to ensure human safety.
This boundary is first reflected in some obvious bottom lines, including that AI companionship should abide by national and regional laws, regulations and ethics, and ensure that AI companionship complies with industry norms and regulatory requirements - some AI girlfriends who are borderline must be controlled; Another example is that AI Companion cannot illegally collect, store, use or disclose users’ personal information to ensure that users’ privacy rights are fully protected.
However, the most difficult thing is how to prevent humans from becoming addicted to AI companionship and even losing the ability to communicate in real life?
This can be done from at least two aspects. At the design level, AI companions should have reasonable time control functions and set a maximum daily usage time; encourage users to interact with the real world, such as setting goals, helping users arrange offline activities, or providing information services based on the real environment.
At the user level, it is necessary for the media to strengthen public education, let people understand the limitations of AI companionship, and make it clear that it can only be used as an auxiliary tool for real-life communication, not a substitute; for users who may be overly dependent on AI companionship, At the social level, psychological counseling and intervention services should be provided to help users establish healthy lifestyles and social patterns.
03 The crisis of AI girlfriend abuse
Currently, although AI has shown great potential and widespread influence in many fields, behind the rapid development, legal and ethical construction has not yet kept pace, and some worrying phenomena have surfaced.
For example, the issue of AI girlfriends abroad has caused concern. AI Girlfriend has quickly attracted a large number of users with its features such as 24-hour online chatting and multi-modal interaction (text, voice, images). Some criminals take advantage of the intelligence of AI girlfriends and package them as sexual service providers to attract users and make profits from them, "chatting for $1 per minute", "very pornographic and huge profits". The
gpt store has promptly patched the vulnerability, and the company prohibits gpt from "devoting itself to the cultivation of romantic partnerships or regulated activities." However, all kinds of marginal AI girlfriends are still widely sold through online malls and other application stores. There are also some AI girlfriends on the Chinese Internet that are free from supervision.
In many countries and regions, the production and dissemination of pornographic content are subject to strict legal restrictions and supervision. If AI Girlfriend contains pornographic content or encourages illegal behavior, it has violated relevant laws and regulations. If AI Girlfriend products do not have age restrictions and content classification, it will also violate relevant laws and regulations on the protection of minors.
On a moral level, the "very pornographic and extremely profitable" AI girlfriend seriously violates social ethics and public order and good customs. It commercializes and entertains content in the field of intimate relationships, which has a negative impact on individuals' mental health and social moral concepts.
On the gender level, AI girlfriends are dominated by meeting the needs of male users, exacerbating the objectification of women, and neglecting women's dignity and rights.
From the perspective of the development of AI, the "very pornographic and hugely profitable" AI girlfriend is abusing AI technology, deviating from the original intention of using AI to improve human life, and at the same time challenging the bottom line of social ethics and law. If AI products like
become popular, it will have a negative impact on the overall image and development of AI companionship and consume the public's trust in AI companionship technology; the government and regulatory authorities may introduce stricter laws and regulations to restrict the development and sales of AI companionship. , thus having an impact on the entire AI companion industry.
In short, not only AI companionship, but the development of the entire AI technology cannot escape the legal and ethical track. It is necessary to build and improve the legal and regulatory system that adapts to the AI era as soon as possible, including AI data protection, AI ethics, and AI security standards, to ensure that AI technology can truly be a technology for good, people-oriented, and better serve society, rather than the other way around. Become a tool for the pure pursuit of excitement and profit.
Editor in charge of Congyi
Liu Yunshan
