Artificial Intelligence (or AI for short) has now infiltrated every aspect of our online lives. Whichever direction you turn, we are being enveloped by a digital world that we can only see through our screens, although it impacts us in many different ways.
One of these ways is in our relationships, because there are many people all over the world now using AI for companionship, by creating chatbots that they consider to be friends, and who they also share intimate details of their personal lives with.
Enter Character.AI, the natural language model that is rapidly becoming the Gen Z-go-to for making friends with synthetic chatbots. So, if you’re a parent or guardian who wants to know is Character.AI safe?, then read on to find out what we discovered.
Introducing Character.AI
Character.AI is yet another free-to-use AI platform that was released in September 2022, and allows its users to create and experiment with their own AI avatar, which they are then able to converse with, role play with, and even produce fan fiction.
Character.AI is yet another free-to-use AI platform that was released in September 2022, and allows its users to create and experiment with their own AI avatar, which they are then able to converse with, role play with, and even produce fan fiction.
This is why Character.AI bots are being used as “digital companions”, with some people even using them to cope with their mental health challenges.
However, this is where those who are skeptical about this type of technology worry about safety and privacy issues, especially for those who already suffer from anxiety, panic attacks, or depression.
And with good reason!
Because users of Character.AI chatbots often share their personal information, as well as details of their lives with the AI service.
But these could then be used by nefarious individuals, as well as AI itself, to wreak havoc in people’s lives.
When using Character.AI, the chatbot responds to users’ initiating conversation that is human-like. It’s easy to not only indulge in the amusement of such a platform, even veering into NSFW territory. But it has caused some users to make Character.AI an indispensable tool for enhancing their daily activities, especially if they don’t have someone close to vent to.
Is Character.AI safe to use?
For most purposes, Character.AI is safe to use. But beyond the typical, there may be concerns about its safey.
Of course, Character.AI’s privacy policy says that it fully protects user safety. But over the years, we have seen many large tech companies become victim to data breaches.
And so, when users are sharing intimate details about themselves on this (or any other AI) platform, safety is something that should be considered before doing so.
The Fine Print
Character.AI, or c.ai as it’s known in the forums, is an AI chatbot that was developed by a team who had previously worked on Google’s LaMDA project. The point of Character.AI is to deliver an immersive and conversational experience, and the platform has had a rapid rise in popularity since its beta launch almost a year ago.
However, there are many people who have been addressing concerns regarding safety of using Character.AI. Keep in mind that the majority of its users range in age from 18-34 (70%). Under 13s are technically not allowed to have accounts, although this isn’t strictly policed.
According to Character.AI’s own website, even though it does have access to user conversations and personal data, this remains confidential, and is only shared with external parties when legally obligated to, or when it’s essential to counteract fraud.
The service’s privacy policy says that it safely stores user’s private data, as well as the interactions that they have with their avatars.
However, as we are all aware, with all of the cyber criminality around these days, all large companies can be vulnerable to data breaches. And Character.AI is no exception to this rule.
Be Aware Of The Risks of Using Character.AI
Creating virtual characters that could closely mimic real individuals, regardless of whether they were made by you or someone you don’t know, definitely raises legitimate concerns about consent and control over personal data. When you use someone’s likeness without them knowing it, this could have an adverse effect on their privacy rights.
Creating virtual characters that could closely mimic real individuals, regardless of whether they were made by you or someone you don’t know, definitely raises legitimate concerns about consent and control over personal data.
Doing this could also introduce a risk of identity manipulation. Your virtual characters could potentially be exploited by cyber criminals and hackers to create profiles, and to manipulate authentic digital identities, which can foster even more diverse forms of deceit.
This dissemination of another person’s digital identity has the potential of manipulating public opinion, and will blur the lines even further between reality and deceptiveness. The result of this can only work to further lower the trust in digital media for those people who already feel skeptical about this emerging technology.
In addition, all of the conversations that you have with either your own or another user’s chatbot are retained by the service, which the company says is used to refine the performance of the AI.
This means any sensitive or personal information you may even mistakenly share in a conversation can potentially be viewed by others.
However, Character.AI does stress that any personal and conversational data that you share with the platform is used to enhance the service, and that it is safeguarded by ‘stringent security protocols’, which include SSL encryption.
Final Thoughts
As we end this blog and answer the question, is Character.AI safe?, we need to put an emphasis on the importance of personal responsibility when using such a service. Although Character.AI, from the outside, appears as a secure and dependable platform, the same can’t be said of the behavior of all of its users or those who seek to hack it.
And although the company’s adoption of comprehensive safeguards and user consent goes some way to reduce any fears of the usage of intimate details, these won’t fail to stop nefarious characters of causing risk and potential harm.
It would be wise to keep your secrets close to your chest when talking with AI chatbots like Character.AI.
