"Needed" security measures for Snapchat's AI chatbot

The Snapchat AI chatbot has been responding inappropriately, and the company released new security measures, especially for parents!

Apr 5, 2023

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Snapchat is rolling out new features to make its AI chatbot safer. The upcoming features include an age-appropriate filter and more information for parents.

Snapchat published a blog post on the official website, giving more information about its latest AI chatbot. Due to its misuse, the company took precautions by adding security features. The blog post included information on Snap's experiences with its 6-week-old GPT-powered chatbot and what solutions are on the way.

The company started by adding an age filter to let AI know the birthdate of the user it is responding to and supply them with age-appropriate responses. There will be more insight in the Family Center for parents to have more control.

"We have also learned about some of the potential for misuse, many of which we learned from people trying to trick the chatbot into providing responses that do not conform to our guidelines. As part of our joint work to improve My AI, we want to share an update on some of the safety enhancements we have recently put in place as a result of our learnings — along with new tools we plan to implement," the company said at the beginning of the post.

Snapchat AI Chatbot has been responding in an unsafe manner

Recently, a Washington Post report showed the chatbot's responses were in an unsafe and inappropriate manner. Snapchat was also aware of the misuse and started working on it to prevent any big issues while offering a better user experience.

The company also added: "However, since My AI is a chatbot and not a real friend, we have been deliberate in treating the associated data differently, because we are able to use the conversation history to continue to make My AI more fun, useful, and safer. Before Snapchatters are allowed to use My AI, we show them an onboarding message that makes clear that all messages with My AI will be retained unless you delete them."

Snapchat's AI chatbot is GPT-powered and available only for Snapchat+ subscribers. The latest analysis showed that only 0.01% of My AI's responses were deemed non-conforming.