Manitoba Proposes AI Chatbot Ban for Kids

What kids really need in the age of artificial intelligence. This story originally appeared in Kids Today, Vox’s newsletter about kids, for everyone. Sign up here for future editions. Bans on kids and teens using social media have swept the country and the world in the past few years, with lawmakers from Australia to Massachusetts enacting or considering legislation to keep young people off platforms like TikTok. Now the Canadian province of Manitoba is planning to go one step further: banning kids from using AI chatbots. Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew announced the proposed ban at an April fundraiser, arguing that tech platforms are “doing these very awful things to kids all in the name of a few likes, all in the name of more engagement, and all in the name of money.” Kinew didn’t say which social media and AI platforms the ban might include, or when the legislation might be introduced, although Manitoba’s education minister has said enforcement might begin in schools. So far, social media bans don’t have a ton of evidence behind them. Australian teens seem to be getting around their country’s ban, possibly by wearing masks to foil age-verification systems. Some experts have also questioned the wisdom of locking kids out of social media, which can have benefits as well as risks. Why we shouldn’t ban kids from social media But AI regulation is a new frontier. The Supreme Court broke democracy by saying the quiet part out loud A decades-long plan to abolish the Electoral College may finally pay off The backlash to Billie Eilish’s vegan comments explains a lot about the American left (and everyone else) Take a mental break with the newest Vox crossword How a “super El Niño” could create record-breaking warming This is the title for the native ad Here’s how America can age gracefully. How Spirit changed the way we travel. I went to a $2,000 hotel and all I got was this really good night of sleep. Democracy and Donald Trump dominate the Court’s remaining docket. Getting married in a social media age. They grow up together, but are twins destined to share a social network? This is the title for the native ad