Strategies to Safeguard Children from Harm, According to Previous White House AI Leader

When Bruce Reed served in the Biden administration as the president’s deputy chief of staff, he led the effort on working with leading AI companies like Anthropic and OpenAI on voluntary commitments to ensure the safety of their products. Reed has since left the White House, but he’s not finished with AI, a technology he described to Mashable as “exciting, amazing, sometimes terrifying.” He will continue working at Common Sense Media, a nonprofit organization that supports children and parents as they navigate media and technology. Reed, a veteran of three Democratic presidential administrations, will lead Common Sense AI, which advocates for more comprehensive AI legislation in California. Common Sense AI has already backed two state bills that separately establish a transparency system for measuring risk of AI products to young users, and protects AI whistleblowers from retaliation when they report a “critical risk.”

Parents’ concerns about AI chatbot harms

While some experts disagree that social media drove an increase in mental health conditions amongst youth, parents are already stepping forward with grave concerns about how their children are engaging with AI chatbots. Last fall, bereaved mother Megan Garcia filed a lawsuit against Character.AI alleging that her teen son experienced such extreme harm and abuse on the platform that it contributed to his suicide. Soon after, two mothers in Texas filed another lawsuit against Character.AI alleging that the company knowingly exposed their children to harmful and sexualized content. One teen of the plaintiff allegedly received a suggestion by its chatbot to kill his parents. Common Sense issued its own parental guidelines on AI companions last fall, and Character.AI has since added new safety and parental control features.

The politics of AI safety

Reed also doesn’t seem intimidated by the shifting political calculus now that Donald Trump is back in the White House, having given the impression that AI technology companies have carte blanche to pursue “dominance.” One of Trump’s executive orders rescinded AI safety testing rules that Biden himself put into effect. Despite the rhetoric and lobbying, Reed is convinced that it’s in AI tech companies’ long-term best interests to test their products, ensuring their safety prior to putting them on the market. Reed participated in numerous meetings with major tech stakeholders, including venture capitalist Marc Andreessen. He politely disagrees that anything of the nature described by critics occurred throughout these conversations.

Pro-innovation, pro-safety

Regardless of the characterization of Biden officials as anti-AI, Reed says he supports innovation — and wants to make sure that the companies get it “right” from the beginning. Reed says that an area of possible bipartisan and industry cooperation, for example, could be tackling explicit deepfakes, a technology that has ensnared teens and adolescents with devastating consequences. The Biden White House laid out its own strategy for curbing the non-consensual imagery, and First Lady Melania Trump has backed a bill giving victims stronger protections.

The Importance of Leading in Stopping Deepfakes

According to Reed, it is crucial for American companies to prioritize leading in the prevention of deepfakes rather than seeking dominance in this technology. He emphasizes the need to focus on developing methods to combat deepfakes effectively.

Urgency in Safeguarding Children’s Privacy

Reed highlights the pressing need to address concerns about children’s privacy and safety in the realm of AI technology. He stresses that immediate action is essential to ensure that AI products are designed with the well-being of children in mind.

Topics
Artificial Intelligence
Social Good
Family & Parenting