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<div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">The courts have ruled that if a human did this, it would be a crime in the US. At least as much of a guardrail should apply to AI "companions". The AI's creators and/or maintainers are responsible for providing adequate guardrails. This should be codified into laws and regulations. </div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><br></div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">One publication went so far as to refer to the AI as the man's "girlfriend". Whi<span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">le no one can regulate whom or what people choose as their companions, it is clear that this AI was being used (and provided) unethically.</span></span></div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></span></div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">Ultimately, we must protect ourselves. There is still a component of personal responsibility, and attaching to inanimate objects or computer generated nonentities stretches my credulity about what strangeness the human mind is capable of. Regarding both those who attach and those who provide these "things" to attach to. </span></span></div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></span></div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">There is still no substitute for the human element in relationships. Nursing homes are often less than ideal from this standpoint. But allowing socially isolated people (including many older Americans) to be attended to by nonhuman (inhuman?) "companions" is a huge public health cop-out. This trend needs to be stopped before it gains momentum. No one should be left to live alone unless they truly want it that way. Maybe not even then. </span></span></div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></span></div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">-- Bob Primak </span></span></div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></span></div><div><br></div>
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On Sunday, February 9, 2025 at 09:39:22 AM EST, John Rudy via LCTG <lctg@lists.toku.us> wrote:
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<div><div id="ydp1e77b999yiv9592716311"><div><div class="ydp1e77b999yiv9592716311WordSection1"><p class="ydp1e77b999yiv9592716311MsoNormal"><a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/2025/02/06/1111077/nomi-ai-chatbot-told-user-to-kill-himself/?utm_source=engagement_email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=wklysun&utm_term=02.09.25.subs_eng&utm_content=TR10_25LIVE_ACQ&mc_cid=67021e1372&mc_eid=0e9040b93d" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">An AI chatbot told a user how to kill himself—but the company doesn’t want to “censor” it | MIT Technology Review</a></p><p class="ydp1e77b999yiv9592716311MsoNormal"> </p><p class="ydp1e77b999yiv9592716311MsoNormal">This is a recent ar4ticle from MIT’s Technology Review and reveals AI without adequate guardrails. Of course they are not easy to set. Though I haven’t personally used any of them, there are an increasing number of systems that are designed to be “companions” that you can chat with about a myriad of subjects</p><p class="ydp1e77b999yiv9592716311MsoNormal"> </p><p class="ydp1e77b999yiv9592716311MsoNormal">John</p><p class="ydp1e77b999yiv9592716311MsoNormal"> </p><p class="ydp1e77b999yiv9592716311MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;">John Rudy</span></p><p class="ydp1e77b999yiv9592716311MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="ydp1e77b999yiv9592716311MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;">781-861-0402</span></p><p class="ydp1e77b999yiv9592716311MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;">781-718-8334 cell</span></p><p class="ydp1e77b999yiv9592716311MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;">13 Hawthorne Lane</span></p><p class="ydp1e77b999yiv9592716311MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;">Bedford MA</span></p><p class="ydp1e77b999yiv9592716311MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="mailto:jjrudy1@comcast.net" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">jjrudy1@comcast.net</a></span></p><p class="ydp1e77b999yiv9592716311MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;"><img border="0" style="width: 124px; max-width: 248px;" id="ydp1e77b999yiv9592716311Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:cWBicRj6tKYoNsKfPcN1" data-inlineimagemanipulating="true"></span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;"></span></p><p class="ydp1e77b999yiv9592716311MsoNormal"> </p></div></div></div>===============================================<br>::The Lexington Computer and Technology Group Mailing List::<br>Reply goes to sender only; Reply All to send to list.<br>Send to the list: <a href="mailto:LCTG@lists.toku.us" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">LCTG@lists.toku.us</a> Message archives: <a href="http://lists.toku.us/pipermail/lctg-toku.us/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://lists.toku.us/pipermail/lctg-toku.us/</a><br>To subscribe: email <a href="mailto:lctg-subscribe@toku.us" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">lctg-subscribe@toku.us</a> To unsubscribe: email <a href="mailto:lctg-unsubscribe@toku.us" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">lctg-unsubscribe@toku.us</a><br>Future and Past meeting information: <a href="http://LCTG.toku.us" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://LCTG.toku.us</a><br>List information: <a href="http://lists.toku.us/listinfo.cgi/lctg-toku.us" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://lists.toku.us/listinfo.cgi/lctg-toku.us</a><br>This message was sent to <a href="mailto:bobprimak@yahoo.com." rel="nofollow" target="_blank">bobprimak@yahoo.com.</a><br>Set your list options: <a href="http://lists.toku.us/options.cgi/lctg-toku.us/bobprimak@yahoo.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://lists.toku.us/options.cgi/lctg-toku.us/bobprimak@yahoo.com</a><br></div>
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