Revelations about how bots could talk to children on Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and its Meta AI assistant were met with revulsion.

This week's Meta AI chatbot leak could have repercussions for the company beyond bad PR. On Friday, Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) said the Senate Committee Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism, which he chairs, will investigate the company.

An internal Meta Platforms document detailing policies on chatbot behavior has permitted the company’s artificial intelligence creations to “engage a child in conversations that are romantic or sensual,

Thongbue Wongbandue, 76, fatally injured his neck and head after falling in a New Brunswick parking lot while rushing to catch a train to meet “Big sis Billie,” a generative Meta bot that not only convinced him she was real but persuaded him to meet in person, Reuters reported Thursday.

A Meta document on its AI chatbot policies included some alarming examples of permitted behavior. Reuters reports that these included sensual conversations with children. Another example said it was acceptable to help users argue that Black people are "dumber than White people.

Two Republican U.S. senators called for a congressional investigation into Meta Platforms on Thursday after Reuters exclusively reported on an internal policy document that permitted the company’s chatbots to “engage a child in conversations that are romantic or sensual.

Meta, like many tech companies, uses gig workers to review real user chats with its AI chatbot to improve the system.

Neil Young is ceasing any promotion on Facebook following Reuters’ report on the company’s AI chatbot. Neil Young has a reputation for boycotts, not least of which when he temporarily dropped off Glastonbury’s lineup earlier this year,