Arkansas AG Tim Griffin warns of AI threats to minors, calls on tech giants to act

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Attorney General Tim Griffin says he’s all for innovation and even sees AI as critical to national security, but he says tech companies need to be doing more to safeguard kids.

Griffin joined attorneys general across the country in sending a letter to top tech companies warning them to address potential flaws in their AI systems.

This letter comes amid troubling national reports that the AG has received of these AI bots engaging minors in inappropriate conversations.

“These chatbots, these artificial intelligence bots that have been apparently flirting with minors and engaging in suggestive conversations with minors,” Griffin said.

Griffin says criminals are already using social media to communicate, engage and manipulate minors, and says AI only adds fuel to the fire with the ability to mimic voices and identities.

“It can end in violence, it can end in sexual abuse, among other things,” Griffin said. “We see this as an ongoing threat.”

Griffin says his office is stepping up enforcement, using advanced tech and even K9s trained to sniff out hidden digital devices to catch and prosecute predators.

“We’ve got the best technology and we’re doing everything we can to find these people and lock them up,” Griffin said.

Griffin will also host a statewide social media summit in Little Rock this October aimed to equip parents, police and prosecutors with the tools to fight back against these online threats.

“How criminals are using social media, how you can protect minors, updates on the litigation that we’re involved with,” Griffin said. “It’s going to be really informative.”

The attorney general’s office is encouraging parents to think carefully before handing over smartphones to their children and to use all available parental controls to monitor online activity.

The social media summit will be on Oct. 7 and 8 in Little Rock and you can register at ArkansasAG.gov.