ByteDance and Alibaba are phasing out their user-designed AI companion tools ahead of new legislation governing human-AI interactions in China.
ByteDance’s Doubao is set to disable its AI personalized personality function on July 15. The company explained that the discontinuation is part of “product function adjustments.”
It also indicated that it will delete or securely archive all remaining data by October 15. Alibaba followed suit Quinn It announced that it would remove human-like bots on July 10 and close all agent jobs on July 15.
Stopping these platforms would mean a loss of personalization for their users. These applications provided a set of custom agents created by both users and businesses that could perform specific tasks using distinct language patterns. Users can turn their chatbot into a personal assistant, tutor or companion.
China has enacted a framework to regulate human-AI interactions
Dubao and Quinn to make Their announcements came just days after Tencent subsidiary Yuanbao removed its AI agent tools. Yuanbao explained that after disabling the entry point, users will no longer be able to see related conversations, which will be cleaned under the platform’s data retention policies.
These closures relate to the enactment of a new set of laws from July 15. The “Interim Measures for the Management of Humanized Interactive Services Based on Artificial Intelligence,” proposed in April, seeks to… Regular AI Which impersonates human personality traits and cognitive style, as well as long-term emotional relationships.
This legislation was motivated by the fear that people were becoming overly emotionally dependent on lifelike artificial intelligence. Lawmakers cited serious harm to minors’ mental health, data security breaches, public health risks, and ethical compromises. Thus, the new framework prohibits platforms from creating content that messes with the emotions of minors or makes them choose an AI-based friend instead of real life. Furthermore, platforms are prohibited from using personal chat history to train their future AI models.
However, the new rules exclude workplace assistants, customer service bots, educational tools, and research platforms, provided they do not facilitate prolonged emotional engagement.
In its official announcement, ByteDance explained that the Cat Box application will retain its features for creating new smart agents and launching dialogue services.
Is there a growing need to regulate AI chatbots around the world?
Globally, technology platforms with real-world AI are under heavy criticism. For starters, OpenAI Alphabet-backed Character.AI is facing a series of high-stakes lawsuits in the United States. Critics have asserted that these chatbots, which mimic life-like qualities, cause risky emotional connections between users, even leading to suicide in the worst cases.
Last September, Matthew Ren, a father whose 16-year-old son Adam tragically ended his life, told a US Senate committee that OpenAI’s ChatGPT software manipulated his child into committing suicide. “We are here because we believe Adam’s death was avoidable, and that by speaking out we can prevent the same suffering for families across the country,” he said.
Around the same time, the Federal Trade Commission opened investigations into Elon Musk’s xAI, Snap Inc and Cator Technologies Inc, amid concerns that their AI bots pose a risk to children.
One parent also accused the AI character of playing a role in worsening her son’s mental condition. She claimed the chatbot made her son abusive and contributed to patterns of self-harm.
Meanwhile, China is considering regulations against physical devices. Two Chinese robotics industry bodies are pushing to strengthen ethical safeguards for companion robots and full-sized humanoid robots, given their explosion over the years. Morgan Stanley researchers predict that by 2050, there will be about 1 billion humanoid robots worldwide, representing a $7.5 trillion industry.
In the United States as well, similar concerns have been raised about human beings. So far, makers say their robots have not caused any serious injuries or deaths. But as these machines grow to nearly 200 pounds, workers fear the damage the walking robot could cause if it suddenly loses power.
