💔AI Stories: Connection, Choices, and Concerns 😔

Tech & Science

Character.AI has launched a new feature, “Stories,” specifically designed for teenagers following a recent decision to discontinue open-ended chats with its AI characters. The feature offers a more structured experience for users under 18 and is available to everyone. In October, Character.AI announced it would shut down chats for teens on November 25th while it develops an age assurance feature intended to automatically place underage users into “more conservative” AI chats. Character.AI is currently facing a lawsuit alleging that the platform contributed to a teenager’s death by suicide, alongside other claims that teens’ conversations with its AI characters harmed their mental health. “Stories” works by allowing users to select from two or three AI characters, choose a genre, and either write their own story premise or utilize AI to generate one. Character.AI then creates a “guided narrative” where users can make frequent choices that alter the storyline. The experience incorporates AI-generated images, and the company anticipates “richer multimodal elements” will be introduced in the future. Meanwhile, retailers are struggling with dramatically inflated RAM prices, selling the memory chips at prices comparable to luxury goods like lobster.