The NSPCC is warning an AI company that allowed users to create chatbots imitating murdered teenager Brianna Ghey and her mother pursued “growth and profit at the expense of safety and decency”.
Character.AI, which last week was accused of “manipulating” a teenage boy into taking his own life, also allowed users to create chatbots imitating teenager Molly Russell.
Molly took her own life aged 14 in November 2017 after viewing posts related to suicide, depression and anxiety online.
“This is yet another example of how manipulative and dangerous the online world can be for young people,” said Esther Ghey, the mother of Brianna Ghey, and called on those in power to “protect children” from “such a rapidly changing digital world”.
According to the report, a Character.AI bot with a slight misspelling of Molly’s name and using her photo, told users it was an “expert on the final years of Molly’s life”.
“It’s a gut punch to see Character.AI show a total lack of responsibility and it vividly underscores why stronger regulation of both AI and user generated platforms cannot come soon enough,” said Andy Burrows, who runs the Molly Rose Foundation, a charity set up by the teenager’s family and friends in the wake of her death.
The NSPCC has now called on the government to implement its “promised AI safety regulation” and ensure the “principles of safety by design and child protection are at its heart”.
“It is appalling that these horrific chatbots were able to be created and shows a clear failure by Character.AI to have basic moderation in place on its service,” said Richard Collard, associate head of child safety online policy at the charity.
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Character.AI told Sky News the characters were user-created and removed as soon as the company was notified.
“Character.AI takes safety on our platform seriously and moderates Characters both proactively and in response to user reports,” said a company spokesperson.
“We have a dedicated Trust & Safety team that reviews reports and takes action in accordance with our policies.
“We also do proactive detection and moderation in a number of ways, including by using industry-standard blocklists and custom blocklists that we regularly expand. We are constantly evolving and refining our safety practices to help prioritise our community’s safety.”
Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK
A man who died after being hit by a bus in Edinburgh has been named.
Michael Leneghen, 74, died after being struck at around 7.25pm on Saturday 2 November in the Cowgate area of the city.
On the day of the incident, police issued a warning for members of the public not to share distressing images and videos circulating online.
In a statement, Mr Leneghen’s family thanked members of the public and emergency services who were involved and asked for privacy.
A single-decker bus collided with Mr Leneghen, who was on foot, Police Scotland say.
Sergeant Paul Ewing of Edinburgh’s road policing unit said the force’s thoughts were with Mr Leneghen’s family and friends “as well as everyone affected by this tragic incident”.
“Our enquiries remain ongoing. We have already spoken to a number of people who were in the area at the time and work is ongoing to check public and private CCTV footage,” he added.
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“We are still keen to hear from anyone who has not yet spoken to police. If you have any information about what happened, then please get in touch.”
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.
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The UK has sanctioned a Russian military officer accused of helping poison former double agent Sergei Skripal with novichok in Salisbury.
The Foreign Office has imposed 56 new sanctions on people and entities linked to Russia, including those in the Wagner mercenary group that operates unofficially on Vladimir Putin’s behalf, and companies based in China, Turkey and central Asia supplying parts to Russia.
Denis Sergeev, who the Met Police charged over the attempted murder of double agent Mr Skripal, has been sanctioned under the chemical weapons sanctions regime.
“Sergeev provided support in the preparation and use of the chemical weapon novichok in Salisbury…and provided a coordinating role in London on the weekend of the attack,” the Foreign Office said.
Mr Skripal and his daughter Yulia were found unconscious on a bench in Salisbury, Wiltshire, in March 2018.
Police said nerve agent novichok was applied to the front door of his home.
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Three Russians, who police said are GRU military intelligence officers, have been charged in absentia over the incident.
Sergeev was the last to be charged after police said he was acting under the alias Sergey Fedotov.
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A public inquiry into the death of Dawn Sturgess, a woman unwittingly killed after coming across a sample perfume bottle containing novichok, heard Mr Skripal believed Mr Putin had ordered the attack on him.
Moscow has repeatedly rejected British accusations the Kremlin was involved.
Also included in the latest sanctions round are companies supplying Russia with military equipment being used in its war against Ukraine.
Ten companies based in China, and a handful from Turkey, Estonia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, are on the list for supplying and producing machine tools, microelectronics and components for drones used by Russia in Ukraine.
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North Korean troops near Ukrainian border
Russian-based mercenary groups operating in sub-Saharan Africa with links to the Kremlin are also on the list.
The Foreign Office said they have threatened peace and security in Libya, Mali and the Central African Republic, and have committed widespread human rights abuses across Africa.
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Foreign Secretary David Lammy said: “Today’s measures will continue to push back on the Kremlin’s corrosive foreign policy, undermining Russia’s attempts to foster instability across Africa and disrupting the supply of vital equipment for Putin’s war machine.
“And smashing the illicit international networks that Russia has worked so hard to forge.
“Putin is nearly 1,000 days into a war he thought would only take a few. He will fail and I will continue to bear down on the Kremlin and support the Ukrainian people in their fight for freedom.”
Police have made a direct appeal to those involved in the murder of a teenager to finally bring her family closure, exactly 30 years after she disappeared.
Lindsay Rimer, 13, went out to buy a box of Corn Flakes late in the evening on 7 November 1994 and never returned home. Her body was found in a canal close to her home six months later.
Lindsay’s family have also marked this year’s anniversary with a renewed appeal for information from the public, particularly in the town of Hebden Bridge in West Yorkshire where Lindsay lived and died.
“This person should be in prison, not us because that’s where we feel we’ve been for the last 30 years,” her sister Kate Rimer told Sky News.
Juliet Rimer was just one when her sister was killed but has recently been reading letters and diaries to gain a better understanding of a life cut short.
“It’s just, it’s a bit of a horror film that we have to do this,” she said. “The fact that I had a sister that I never knew who was murdered, I just can’t wrap my head around that. It’s had a massive impact on me.”
Kate, who played the part of her sister in a police reconstruction a year after her disappearance, says the family believes someone has information that could lead to her killer’s arrest.
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“It’s usually been my mum who does this but the emotional toll it’s taken on my parents means that they just can’t do this anymore.
“It’s incredibly emotional, it opens everything up, and it reflects back over 30 years ago and everything that we lived through then. And just the horror of a loved family member, a child being murdered, is a really bizarre situation. You live your normal life around that and then we’re opening up again to bring murder and death back into our family.”
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In the years since Lindsay’s disappearance, police have spoken to more than 5,000 people and examined 1,200 vehicles. Two men were arrested and later released.
A new sighting of Lindsay after she left the convenience shop on the night she disappeared has been confirmed and police believe those in the community have vital information.
Detective Chief Inspector James Entwistle of West Yorkshire Police made a direct appeal to those who were involved in killing and disposing of her body.
“Has this been on your conscience for thirty years?” he said.
“It’s perfectly possible there’s more than one person involved, its perfectly possible there’s a vehicle involved. Maybe you didn’t murder Lindsay but you know exactly who did because you were there and that’s sat on your conscience for 30 years.
“Now is the time to come and talk to us, now is the time to draw a line under this and bring that closure for Lindsay’s family.”
New posters featuring Lindsay’s picture have gone up around Hebden Bridge as part of the appeal for information and an increased police presence will be in the town.
Juliet said: “It has been 30 years but Lindsey didn’t deserve this and we owe it to her as her family to keep doing this.”