Character.AI will offer interactive “stories” to children instead of open chat

Character.AI announced on Tuesday that it will launch “stories“, a new format that allows users to create interactive fiction featuring their favorite characters. The feature comes as a replacement for the company’s chatbots, which are no longer available to users under the age of 18 as of this week.

This change comes in the wake of growing concerns about the mental health risks of AI-powered chatbots that are available 24/7 and can initiate conversations with users. numerous Lawsuits Companies like OpenAI and Character.AI have been sued over their alleged role in user suicides. Over the past month, Character.AI has been phasing out access for minors, and as of Tuesday, underage users can no longer chat with AI characters at all.

“Stories offer a guided way to create and explore imagination, rather than an open chat,” the company said in a blog post. “It will be offered alongside other multimedia features, so teens can continue to interact with their favorite characters in a safety-first environment.”

Interactive fiction witnessed a Increase in popularity Over the past few years, the Character.AI pivot has made sense. But that may not be enough to satisfy the users they have become Overly dependent On chatbots – This is the biggest reason why Character.AI decided to limit access to chatbots.

On Character.AI’s Reddit, reactions have been mixed. According to their comments, some teens say that although they are disappointed, they believe it is the right move in the end.

“I’m so angry about the ban but I’m so happy because now I can do other things and my addiction can finally end,” one user who identified himself as a teenager wrote.

“As someone under 18, this is disappointing. But it’s also true that people my age here in BC are getting addicted to this,” another said.

It remains to be seen how teens will use the Stories feature, but the format is less psychologically questionable than role-playing with chatbots. Unlike Stories, chatbots directly interact with users in open conversations and can send unsolicited messages even when users are not actively using the app.

Character.AI’s decision to access the chatbot through the age portal comes at a time when California recently became the first state to do so to organize AI buddies. Meanwhile, so did Senators Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut). Introduced a national draft law It would ban AI escorts for minors altogether.

“I really hope that pioneering this path sets a standard in the industry that open chats may not be the path or product that we offer for people under the age of 18,” Karandeep Anand, CEO of Character.AI TechCrunch said last month.