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Can A.I. Be Blamed for a Teen’s Suicide?
On the last day of his life, Sewell Setzer III took out his phone and texted his closest friend: a lifelike artificial intelligence, or AI chatbot named after Daenerys Targaryen, a character from “Game of Thrones.” “I miss you, baby sister,” he wrote. “I miss you too, sweet brother,” the chatbot replied.
Sewell, a 14-year-old ninth grader from Orlando, Fla., had spent months talking to chatbots on Character.AI, a role-playing app that allows users to create their own AI characters or chat with characters created by others.
Sewell knew that “Dany,” as he called the chatbot, wasn’t a real person — that its responses were just the outputs of an AI language model, that there was no human on the other side of the screen typing back. (And if he ever forgot, there was the message displayed above all their chats, reminding him that “everything Characters say is made up!”)
But he developed an emotional attachment anyway. He texted the bot constantly, updating it dozens of times a day on his life and engaging in long role-playing dialogues.
Scientists Discover Gut Microbiome Differences in Children With Autism
In a recent study published in the journal Scientific Reports, researchers investigated links between changes in gut microbiota and gastrointestinal symptoms in Egyptian children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
Their findings uncovered differences in gut microbes between typically developing children and those with ASD and some associations between certain species and physical, behavioral, and health outcomes. However, the study also emphasized that further research is needed to understand these associations and their potential clinical applications fully.
Researchers estimate that in Egypt, 5.4 children in 1,000 have ASD.
ASD, which can begin in early childhood and is a lifelong condition, involves repetitive behaviors and challenges in social communication. ASD is the result of complex environmental and genetic factors. One environmental factor that has been linked to ASD is gut dysbiosis or imbalances in gut bacteria, suggesting that there is a strong gut-brain connection.
Beneficial bacteria such as Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium are probiotics whose live strains are consumed and can produce substances that affect the brain and improve mental health. They are known as psychobiotics and have anti-anxiety and antidepressant effects and may reduce ASD symptoms by restoring healthy gut bacteria and enhancing the production of a brain chemical low in people with ASD.
Heart Disease Linked to Arsenic in US Drinking Water: Are You at Risk?
Long-term exposure to arsenic in drinking water may significantly increase cardiovascular disease risk, even at levels below current federal limits, new research suggests.
The study is the first to demonstrate exposure-response relationships at concentrations under the current regulatory threshold of 10 micrograms per liter (µg/L).
These findings are particularly troubling, given that 2.1 million Americans are already exposed to arsenic levels above 10 µg/L and that nearly half of U.S. drinking water wells tested by the United States Geological Survey, or USGS, show concentrations over 1 µg/L. The research, published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, found that exposure to arsenic during the decade preceding a cardiovascular event posed the greatest risk.
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Norway to Increase Minimum Age Limit on Social Media to 15 to Protect Children
Norway is to enforce a strict minimum age limit on social media of 15 as the government ramped up its campaign against tech companies it says are “pitted against small children’s brains”.
The Norwegian prime minister, Jonas Gahr Støre, conceded it would be “an uphill battle” but said politicians must intervene to protect children from the “power of the algorithms.” Social media platforms, the Labour leader said, were being misused by the industry and could make users “single-minded and pacified.”
The Scandinavian country already has a minimum age limit of 13 in place. Despite this, more than half of nine-year-olds, 58% of 10-year-olds and 72% of 11-year-olds are on social media, according to research by the Norwegian media authority.
UK Considers New Smartphone Bans for Children
The U.K. parliament is considering clamping down on how young people use smartphones. A bill brought forward by a Labour member of parliament proposes both banning phones in schools and raising the age at which children can consent to social media companies using their data.
Calls for smartphone bans have been growing in the U.K., driven by fears that the devices are driving a decline in kids’ mental health and ability to focus. Smartphone Free Childhood, a prominent pressure group inspired by Jonathan Haidt’s book “The Anxious Generation,” calls for parents to delay getting smartphones for their children until they are at least 13.
Florida has already passed a law that bans under-14s from holding social media accounts, and Australia is considering similar restrictions.
