In other words, bans can often have the opposite
effect of what’s intended. Rather than keeping youth away from harmful
influences, they may draw them in closer. Especially during adolescence, one
of the most naturally rebellious periods of life.
That is not to say everyone will succumb to temptation after
a ban. Most will likely adhere. But there will surely be a significant number
of teenagers who will not.
The latest such ban comes from the Chasidus of
Karlin-Stolin, as reported in Arutz Sheva:
The Karlin-Stolin Hasidic community has issued new guidelines significantly limiting the use of artificial intelligence, especially among its younger members.
Released by the Hasidic Committee for Media Guidance and Advice, the rules include a total ban on teens independently interacting with AI systems. The committee described AI as technology “based on databases of billions of documents and various contents found across global computer networks,” and warned that its rapid evolution demands extreme caution.
These bans, as noted, are often instituted for entirely good
reasons. In the case of AI (Artificial Intelligence), the goal is to protect
users - especially vulnerable youth - from the dangers inherent in a powerful
and largely unregulated new technology. And there are indeed real dangers.
AI-generated images and content have already proven capable
of inflicting severe damage. Fake images that are so realistic they are
indistinguishable from real ones can destroy reputations, relationships, and
lives — in an instant. One AI website that has been in the news recently - can
strip the clothes off a perfectly modest image of a teenage girl and offers to
do so for any submitted photo. Even though nothing actually happened,
the image falsely says it did. The psychological and social impact of
such misuse can be devastating. And teenagers, in particular, are highly
vulnerable to such content.
So yes, a ban is understandable. But let’s be honest. It doesn’t
work. It’s not that hard for a teenager to find someone with a smartphone and
convince them to try it.
So what’s the alternative? How can we responsibly allow
youth access to AI when it can be so easily and terribly abused?
The truth is: we cannot entirely prevent the misuse
of these technologies — not through bans, and not even through good parenting.
But there is no substitute for good parenting.
The inefficacy of bans goes back to the early days of the
internet, when the Charedi - especially
Chassidic - world attempted to ban it outright.
In May 2012, the concern over internet use led to a massive
gathering of the Charedi world at Citi Field in Queens. Prominent rabbinic
leaders warned about the internet's spiritual dangers. At the time, they called
for a total ban — later modified to allow internet use for business purposes or
if heavily filtered. Still, the clear preference remained: avoid it entirely.
But today, it's nearly impossible to function in society
without using the internet in some form.
When Apple released the iPhone - followed by a wave of
copycat ‘smartphones’ (a term now universally used) it reshaped the world. Those devices changed
our lives in ways few could have anticipated, even the developers themselves.
By now, we all know that smartphones can be among the most
useful tools available to humankind — and also among the most destructive.
These dangers are not only acknowledged in Charedi circles, but across all of
civilized society. Improper smartphone use can — and does — ruin lives. And
yet, no ban has ever succeeded in keeping them away. Nearly everyone has one
now. Banning them – as the Charedi leadership had tried to do - only made their
use more clandestine.
Artificial intelligence is the next technological leap. It
hasn't yet fulfilled its vast potential — for good or for harm. But the damage
already done shows just how dangerous it can be.
And like every ban before it, this too will likely be
honored in the breach by precisely the people it’s meant to protect.
The problems created by rapid technological advances are
real. But they cannot be solved by simply declaring, ‘It is forbidden’. There’s
no magic bullet. But the solution, if it exists, begins in the home. With good
parenting, setting boundaries, and leading by example.
Some ideas:
- No
child under 12 should be allowed to own or use AI-related tech
unsupervised.
- Children
up to age 18 should only be allowed access under strict parental
monitoring.
Obvioulsy that’s not a complete solution, but it’s at least
a start. Ideally, the Orthodox Jewish world should convene a universal, cross-Hashkafic
summit where a meeting of minds across the entire spectrum of Orthodox Judaism can
take place. If sincere and well-meaning organizations come together without
trying to push their own narrow agendas, real progress can be made.
If schools across all Hashkafic lines agreed to adopt and
implement shared guidelines, we might begin to see change. Sadly, there are only
2 chances of the left, right, and center of Orthodoxy agreeing on anything: Slim
and none. Even on something that harms us all equally.
