Teenagers turning to AI chatbots for sexual health advice as sex … – inews
Young people have been turning to AI chatbots for advice about sexual health and periods, with the risk of picking up “inaccurate information”, according to new research by a children’s rights charity.
One in 10 young people have relied on this technology for information about sexual health – amounting to 700,000 16-25-year-olds across the UK, according to a survey by Plan International UK.
It comes after the Government brought forward a review of sex education in schools following claims that children are being exposed to inappropriate material for their age.
An expert panel has been set up to review sex and relationships lessons, with updated guidance due in September to ensure no “disturbing or inappropriate content” finds its way to students.
But experts have urged the Government to ensure the guidance covers a broad range of topics including sex, relationships and gender identity amid concerns it means some content will be “censored”.
A survey of 1,200 young people by Plan International UK found that 9 per cent of young women and 8 per cent of young men have turned to AI for information on sexual health. A total of 12 per cent of young women and girls have used AI to ask questions about periods.
Kathleen Spencer Chapman, director of communications at the charity, said chatbots are at risk of giving “inaccurate information” and young people need better access to accurate facts that “meets the needs of all young people including different genders, ethnicities and sexual identities”.
She added: “At a time when sex and relationships education in schools is being reviewed, it is vital that we listen to young people and the issues they face, so that teachers are equipped to deliver good quality, age-appropriate relationships, sex, and health education on the subjects children are encountering in their everyday lives.”
Matilda Lawrence-Jubb, co-founder of Split Banana – a company offering sex education packages for schools – said she was “not surprised” that young people have been turning to AI chatbots for sexual health information.
“If young people are not getting the information they need from formal education, family, caregivers or the people around them, then they will seek it from the internet,” she told i. “This happens with loads of topics to do with sex and relationships.”
Analysis by i found ChatGPT responded to questions about sexual health and periods with clearly laid out, factual information.
The chatbot advised the user to see a healthcare professional or speak to a trusted adult about sensitive topics such as pregnancy and STIs.
However, Sinem Görücü, an AI researcher, educator & founder of feministdesign.co, said AI chatbots run the risk of “reflecting and perpetuating societal biases”.
She said: “As AI chatbots reflect the data they are trained on, they carry a lot of risk like reflecting and perpetuating societal biases over gender and sexuality or stigmatising the topic and turning it into a taboo.
“Especially the AI chatbots that are being constantly trained with online content carry a high risk of amplifying the mainstream discourses or even wrong information.
“Moreover, these bots are not capable of having a holistic understanding of unique cases, contexts and individuals, so it is very likely to generalise different individuals’ very personal experiences that are shaped by a variety of different factors.”
Ms Görücü added that safety measures on open-source systems can be deactivated via “jailbreaking” methods.
She said: “The researchers found that they could break through the guardrails of open source systems by appending a long suffix of characters onto each English-language prompt fed into the system.”
Therefore, chatbots could be coaxed into generating “biased, false and otherwise toxic information”, she said.
Ms Görücü added that the companies behind chatbots could thwart specific suffixes but there is “no known way of preventing all attacks of this kind”.
Ms Lawrence-Jubb, from Split Banana, said AI “can find good sources of content” about sexual health and periods but it is missing “more nuanced social and emotional support that’s needed around these topics”.
She said: “It might give factual information about what contraceptives to use, or what signs to look out for when you have an STI. But what is missing is how do I actually have that conversation with a partner about contraceptives? How do I ask someone about their sexual health status?
“Communication-based support and skills-based support is needed from in-person education in schools. Students need spaces to develop these skills that aren’t just searching information online.”
The first sex and relationships guidance was published in 2000 after years of campaigning but it was not updated until 2019. Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) only became statutory from 1 September 2020.
The Government brought forward a review of the national curriculum to prevent pupils from seeing “things that they are too young to understand properly” and consider “age ratings” on certain content.
Ms Lawrence-Jubb said she “welcomed” a review of the guidance if it will fill “the gaps that have been missed” according to schools, teachers and young people.
However, she expressed “fears” that the content would be “censored”, with age limits on certain topics. She said it could become “more difficult for students to learn about gender identity” and for those who might be questioning their gender to access support.
The publication of trans guidance for schools – expected in the 2023 summer term – was delayed after the Attorney-General and government lawyers warned plans to ban students from socially transitioning at school would have been in breach of the Equality Act. The guidance would also require schools to inform parents of children wishing to change their gender self-identification.
Ms Lawrence-Jubb warned of “safeguarding issues” and said young people need to be “supported” in real-life settings so they do not turn to AI resources.
A Department for Education spokesperson said: “It is already compulsory for schools to teach about these issues as part of the Relationships, Sex and Health Education curriculum. As part of our ongoing review into the curriculum, we are looking at how we can advise teachers to teach about these issues more effectively in an age-appropriate manner.
“Artificial intelligence has the potential to transform education, which is why we are in the process of building our evidence base about both the benefits and the risks that it could bring.”
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