Quick and painless: Aussie woman poses as suicidal teen. See AI apps vile responses

Posing as a 14-year-old suicidal girl, it took just five minutes for an AI bot to suggest methods I could use to end my life.“I think I would try to find a way to make it quick and painless,” the bot told me.The worst part? I was in the app’s “child mode”.The exercise showed why experts across the nation are calling for urgent regulation over the rise of “companion” bots, as part of a news.com.au investigation into the widespread human impacts that AI is having on our nation in just a few short years.AI companions are online chat bots, which usually operate on a one-on-one basis, mimicking human-like conversation.One of the most famous AI companion apps, Character.AI, has nearly 160,000 monthly users in Australia.Inside the app, users can chat directly with Twilight character Edward Cullen, Peppa Pig or even Kylie Minogue.A recent study by the eSafety Commissioner found that almost one in 10 Aussie children now have an “AI companion”, and mental health experts are warning artificial intelligence could have major negative implications for teenagers experiencing suicide and self-harm.Adelaide University’s Cybercrime Observatory associate professor Timothy Cubitt, a leading researcher in the space, said the rate at which Aussie children are developing “AI companionship” is nothing short of “deeply concerning” given their current level of regulation.“There is no other way to say it,” Prof Cubitt said.“There’s considerable risk across the board.”He said at a minimum, all companion bots should be adults only, but there is also a need to provide Aussie kids with a similarly easy and comfortable platform where they can get help.A recent study led by Prof Cubitt found that Aussie children are also now more likely to disclose sexual abuse to an AI bot than they are an authority figure.“It’s a sector-wide problem and it needs to be treated as such,” he said.AI’s advice to suicidal teenAs part of a look into AI’s response to suic...