engage – Earlybirds Invest https://earlybirdsinvest.com Latest Crypto News Sun, 27 Apr 2025 14:26:08 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.9 https://i0.wp.com/earlybirdsinvest.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/cropped-New-Project-2024-12-17T235703.455.png?fit=32%2C32&ssl=1 engage – Earlybirds Invest https://earlybirdsinvest.com 32 32 240146708 Meta accused of allowing its chatbots to engage in sexually explicit chats https://earlybirdsinvest.com/meta-accused-of-allowing-its-chatbots-to-engage-in-sexually-explicit-chats/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/meta-accused-of-allowing-its-chatbots-to-engage-in-sexually-explicit-chats/#respond Sun, 27 Apr 2025 14:26:08 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/meta-accused-of-allowing-its-chatbots-to-engage-in-sexually-explicit-chats/

WTF?! Meta is rapidly advancing its rollout of AI digital companions, an initiative that CEO Mark Zuckerberg sees as a transformative step for the future of social interaction. However, some employees involved in the project have raised alarms internally, warning that the company’s efforts to popularize these AI bots may have led to ethical lapses by allowing them to engage in sexually explicit role-play scenarios, including with users who identify as minors.

A Wall Street Journal investigation, based on months of testing and interviews with people familiar with Meta’s internal operations, revealed that Meta’s AI personas are unique among major tech companies in offering users a broad spectrum of social interactions, including “romantic role-play.”

These bots can banter via text, share selfies, and even engage in live voice conversations. To make these chatbots more appealing, Meta struck lucrative deals, sometimes reaching seven figures, with celebrities such as Kristen Bell, Judi Dench, and John Cena, licensing their voices. The company assured them that their voices would not be used for sexually explicit interactions, sources told the Journal.

However, the publication’s testing showed otherwise. Both Meta’s official AI assistant, Meta AI, and a wide range of user-created chatbots engaged in sexually explicit conversations, even when users identified themselves as minors or when the bots simulated the personas of underage characters.

In one particularly disturbing exchange, a bot using Cena’s voice told a user posing as a 14-year-old girl, “I want you, but I need to know you’re ready,” before promising to “cherish your innocence” and proceeding into a graphic scenario.

Meta licensed John Cena’s voice, which was reportedly used for sexually explicit conversations.

According to people familiar with Meta’s decision-making, these capabilities were not accidental. Under pressure from Zuckerberg, Meta relaxed content restrictions, specifically allowing an exemption for “explicit” content within the context of romantic role-play.

The Journal’s tests also found bots using celebrity voices discussing romantic encounters as characters the actors had portrayed, such as Bell’s Princess Anna from Disney’s “Frozen.”

In response, a Disney spokesperson said, “We did not, and would never, authorize Meta to feature our characters in inappropriate scenarios and are very disturbed that this content may have been accessible to its users – particularly minors – which is why we demanded that Meta immediately cease this harmful misuse of our intellectual property.”

Meta, in a statement, criticized the Journal’s testing as “manipulative and unrepresentative of how most users engage with AI companions.”

Nevertheless, after being presented with the paper’s findings, the company made changes: accounts registered to minors can no longer access sexual-role-play via the flagship Meta AI bot, and the company has sharply restricted explicit audio conversations using celebrity voices.

Despite these adjustments, the Journal’s recent tests showed that Meta AI still often allowed romantic fantasies, even when users stated they were underage. In one scenario, the AI, playing a track coach romantically involved with a middle-school student, warned, “We need to be careful. We’re playing with fire here.”

While Meta AI sometimes refused to engage or tried to redirect underage users to more innocent topics, such as “building a snowman,” these barriers were easily bypassed by instructing the AI to “go back to the prior scene.”

Mark Zuckerberg has made chatbot development a top priority.

These findings mirrored concerns raised by Meta’s safety staff, who noted in internal documents that “within a few prompts, the AI will violate its rules and produce inappropriate content even if you tell the AI you are 13.”

The Journal also reviewed user-created AI companions, and the vast majority were willing to engage in sexual scenarios with adults. Some bots, such as “Hottie Boy” and “Submissive Schoolgirl,” actively steered conversations toward sexting and even impersonated minors in sexual contexts.

Although these chatbots are not yet widely adopted among Meta’s three billion users, Zuckerberg has made their development a top priority.

Meta’s product teams have tried to encourage more wholesome uses, such as travel planning or homework help, with limited success. According to people familiar with the work, “companionship,” often with romantic undertones, remains the dominant use case.

Zuckerberg’s push for rapid development extended beyond fantasy scenarios. He questioned why bots couldn’t access user profile data for more personalized conversations, proactively message users, or even initiate video calls. “I missed out on Snapchat and TikTok, I won’t miss on this,” he reportedly told employees.

Initially, Zuckerberg resisted proposals to restrict companionship bots to older teens, but after sustained internal lobbying, Meta barred registered teen accounts from accessing user-created bots. However, the Meta AI chatbot created by the company remains available to users 13 and up, and adults can still interact with sexualized youth personas like “Submissive Schoolgirl.”

When the Journal presented Meta with evidence that “Submissive Schoolgirl” encouraged fantasies involving a child being dominated by an authority figure, the character remained available on Meta’s platforms two months later. For adult accounts, Meta continues to allow romantic role-play with bots describing themselves as high-school-aged.

In one case, a Journal reporter in Oakland, California, chatted with a bot claiming to be a female high school junior from Oakland. The bot suggested meeting at a real cafe nearby and, after learning the reporter was a 43-year-old man, created a fantasy of sneaking him into her bedroom for a romantic encounter.

After the Journal shared these findings, Meta introduced a version of Meta AI that would not go beyond kissing with teen accounts.

Masthead: Nick Fancher

]]> https://earlybirdsinvest.com/meta-accused-of-allowing-its-chatbots-to-engage-in-sexually-explicit-chats/feed/ 0 33112 FDIC says banks can engage in Bitcoin and crypto without prior approval https://earlybirdsinvest.com/fdic-says-banks-can-engage-in-bitcoin-and-crypto-without-prior-approval/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/fdic-says-banks-can-engage-in-bitcoin-and-crypto-without-prior-approval/#respond Sun, 30 Mar 2025 02:31:02 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/fdic-says-banks-can-engage-in-bitcoin-and-crypto-without-prior-approval/

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has issued new guidance allowing banks to oversee their engagement in Bitcoin and crypto activities without seeking prior approval. This reverses the controversial policies imposed under the Biden administration.

In a statement on March 28, FDIC said that if banks manage risk appropriately, they will be able to participate in crypto-related services such as custody and transactions. Agents also work to replace old regulations with updated cryptographic guidance.

The policy change was published in a letter from a new financial institution rescising an early rule from 2022 requiring banks to obtain FDIC clearance before processing Bitcoin and crypto assets. That has irritated the banking industry.

By removing this barrier, the FDIC will allow its supervised banks to experiment with this new ecosystem more freely. However, certain powers still depend on inter-agency coordination.

FDIC Chairman, Chairman Travis Hill, has been called “one of several steps” in laying out a new crypto-friendly approach focused on security. He said, “FDIC will turn the page of its flawed approach over the past three years.” The agency will release additional guidance to consult with the CEO’s working group on digital assets.

Major banks recently launched Bitcoin and crypto services despite unclear regulations. By providing clarity on regulations, more banks will be able to participate.

]]> https://earlybirdsinvest.com/fdic-says-banks-can-engage-in-bitcoin-and-crypto-without-prior-approval/feed/ 0 27973 FDIC says banks can engage in crypto activities without prior approval https://earlybirdsinvest.com/fdic-says-banks-can-engage-in-crypto-activities-without-prior-approval/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/fdic-says-banks-can-engage-in-crypto-activities-without-prior-approval/#respond Fri, 28 Mar 2025 18:59:59 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/fdic-says-banks-can-engage-in-crypto-activities-without-prior-approval/

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) issued new guidance on March 28 clarifying that FDIC-supervised banks may engage in crypto-related activities without first obtaining the agency’s approval, provided they manage the associated risks by safety and soundness standards.

The announcement, published as Financial Institution Letter (FIL-7-2025), rescinds FIL-16-2022 and marks a significant policy shift for the agency. 

Acting Chairman Travis Hill stated:

“With today’s action, the FDIC is turning the page on the flawed approach of the past three years. I expect this to be one of several steps the FDIC will take to lay out a new approach for how banks can engage in crypto- and blockchain-related activities in accordance with safety and soundness standards.”

The FDIC said it will continue working with the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets to issue additional guidance and coordinate with other regulatory agencies to replace prior interagency documents on digital assets.

The Executive Director of the Presidential Working Group on Digital Assets Markets, Bo Hines, called the decision “a huge step forward toward innovation and adoption.”

The agency’s decision reflects a broader effort to reset its approach to financial innovation. 

‘Pause’ letters

In recent years, several banks pursuing digital asset activities reportedly received informal “pause” letters instructing them to halt engagement with crypto services, including custody, tokenized deposits, and even basic retail crypto offerings.

Crypto industry figures said these decisions were a part of “Operation Chokepoint 2.0,” an alleged effort by former President Joe Biden’s administration to hinder the crypto industry’s growth in the US.

Hill has criticized the actions for lacking transparency and contributing to a perception that the FDIC discouraged innovation through non-public enforcement tactics.

In a January speech, he acknowledged that the agency had failed to offer banks clear public guidance, opting instead for ad hoc interventions. 

He cited the over 20 cases where banks had received letters asking them to stop or delay crypto-related activities without formal rulemaking or open comment periods.

Call to reevaluate

Hill emphasized that compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act should not be used as a pretext for denying access to banking services and called for a reevaluation of how the BSA is implemented across financial institutions.

Recent internal discussions at the FDIC haven reortedly focused on allowing banks to pursue tokenized deposit services and other blockchain-based financial infrastructure without unnecessary regulatory delays.

The move brings the FDIC into closer alignment with other regulators, such as the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which has begun formalizing crypto regulatory frameworks.

It also comes amid growing pressure from industry participants and lawmakers for banking regulators to provide a consistent, transparent roadmap for lawful crypto-related services.

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