Скачать или смотреть North Carolina child fatality group links social media algorithms, AI chat bots to suicide risks

North Carolina experts tasked with lowering the number of child deaths in the state are eyeing two high-tech targets: Social media and artificial intelligence.

The North Carolina Child Fatality Task Force’s Intentional Death Prevention Committee met Wednesday to talk about their concerns over the algorithms used by social media and AI companies, which they said are fueling mental health problems. In the past decade nearly 500 North Carolina children have committed suicide. The meeting comes on the heels of a congressional hearing where parents alleged that chatbots coached their child into taking his own life. It also comes as the state seeks to regulate teens’ exposure to social media.

North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein signed a bill this summer requiring schools to ban cell phones during class, and to teach lessons on social media literacy. For the 2026-27 school year, school boards across the state must create social media literacy lessons that teach students about social media addiction, misinformation and manipulation.

One of the presentations Wednesday focused on AI chatbots and the increasing number of teenagers turning to them for emotional support — only to have their secrets sold to advertisers who can then use the information about their hopes, fears and insecurities to target ads at them.