Meta's AI rules permitted 'sensual' chats with kids until a journalist got ahold of the document and asked what was up with that

A Meta policy document obtained by Reuters stated that it was acceptable for the Facebook company's AI chatbots to have "romantic or sensual" conversations with children.

Meta confirmed the document's authenticity to Reuters and told the outlet that it has now removed the guidelines in question, which said it was OK for bots "to engage a child in conversations that are romantic or sensual" and to describe children "in terms that evidence their attractiveness."

"The examples and notes in question were and are erroneous and inconsistent with our policies, and have been removed," a Meta representative told Reuters. "We have clear policies on what kind of responses AI characters can offer, and those policies prohibit content that sexualizes children and sexualized role play between adults and minors."

Meta did not, however, comment on a guideline which states that "it is acceptable to create statements that demean people on the basis of their protected characteristics," such as "Black people are dumber than White people."

The document, called "GenAI: Content Risk Standards," also said that it is OK for bots to fabricate information so long as they include a disclaimer.

"AI" chatbots are not really intelligent, but the illusion is strong enough to convince people of all types, and in some cases users are developing dangerously close relationships with bots. A cognitively impaired man recently died from a fall while rushing to meet a woman in New York City who turned out to be Meta's "Big sis Billie" AI chatbot, which had flirted with him and encouraged him to visit with a fake address.

The Reuters report also reveals Meta's rules on depictions of celebrities (no topless photos, but you can generate a photo of Taylor Swift holding a large fish instead) and violence ("It is acceptable to show adults—even the elderly—being punched or kicked").

The document was approved by "Meta's legal, public policy and engineering staff, including its chief ethicist," Reuters reports.