Is Anima AI Safe for Kids?

AI girlfriends or boyfriends? What could go wrong!?

For kids and teens, we suspect a lot of things.

Anima is an AI-based platform that allows users to create and chat with an AI friend, or AI boyfriend or girlfriend, as long as the user is willing to pay a monthly fee. Anima is similar to Replika, Romantic or Digi, AI companion apps accessible to kids. 

As a parent, it’s essential to understand the implications of such technologies to our children. Let’s delve into the potential effects of the Anima AI app on kids, exploring its features, engagement methods, and safety considerations.

What is Anima?

Anima is an AI app that offers users a personalized experience with a chatbot designed to mimic the behavior and sound of a real person. Their slogan boasts to provide, “[an] AI companion that cares,” with whom users can “have a friendly chat, roleplay, [and] grow [their] communication and relationship skills.”

Unlike AI bots like Socratic and ChatGPT, Anima doesn’t provide homework or trivia help, instead solely offering a manufactured relationship with the chatbot. 

Through machine learning algorithms, Anima tailors its content to the individual user, offering a personalized engagement. The app contains a wide range of mature themes, ideas, and conversations. They incorporate elements of storytelling, relationship building, and gamification. 

Is Anima AI Safe for Kids?

No, the Anima AI chatbot is not safe for kids. Parents should consider the app’s purchase options, mature content, and privacy and data concerns before they allow their children to talk to the Anima chatbot.

Purchases and Subscriptions

Anima AI’s free version allows users to communicate with the chatbot as a friend. However, with the purchase of a subscription, users can enter into a romantic or sexual relationship with the chatbot. 

Users can also purchase gifts for their AI girlfriend or boyfriend that could simply serve to make the user feel more connected to the AI bot. Or, if the user so desires, gifts can motivate the AI to become more sexually explicit. 

Mature Content

According to their privacy policy, Anima is not intended for users below the age of 17— making Anima AI NSFW, or not safe for work. Once the subscription for a romantic relationship with the AI is paid, the conversations can become sexually explicit very quickly. It’s not at all uncommon to see sexts roll in once the premium subscription price has been paid. 

Privacy and Data Security

Anima AI does not protect user data, and it’s not encrypted, meaning that a hacker could easily access any information Anima AI stores in its database. If a child were to send explicit text messages or photos to the AI and that content was stolen by a hacker, that child could easily be exploited for money or more sexual content. 

It’s vital that with all AI chatbots, kids and adults alike do not share sensitive and private information. 

Anima Relationships

Central to Anima’s approach is its unique engagement. The app establishes dynamic relationships with users, adapting its responses and activities based on the user’s previous interactions and preferences.

However, relying on AI to fulfill social needs of conversation and interaction can be harmful to people and lead to devastating consequences in the real world.

“When we interact with robots, it’s easy to forget that we’re not actually interacting with another human. And over time, that can lead to a lack of empathy, a lack of social skills, and a lack of emotional intelligence.”

– Dr Kate Darling, AI Expert

It’s not easy for the brain to differentiate between real-world connections with other humans and connections with an AI bot. In fact, a recent study indicated that people can form familial-like bonds with chatbots. But what does that mean for our children? 

Unfortunately, the effects of parasocial friendships and romantic relationships with AI chatbots are not fully known because of the novelty of AI. However, we do know that kids need many healthy and happy social relationships to thrive, and an AI chatbot can’t fulfill all those needs. 

To avoid the harmful effects of parasocial relationships with AI, parents can make sure that kids are surrounded by a good support system of friends and family.

What Parents Can Do

Navigating digital relationships in the context of parenting raises questions about setting appropriate boundaries and guiding children in their interactions with AI. 

It’s important for parents to approach these decisions with a blend of curiosity and caution, ensuring that any engagements with AI entities align with family values and promote healthy digital habits. 

By fostering open conversations with children about the nature of virtual relationships and encouraging critical thinking, parents can instill a sense of responsibility and awareness in their children’s digital interactions, nurturing a balanced and mindful approach to technology within the family dynamic.

It’s crucial for parents to exercise vigilance and involvement in their child’s digital journey. Stay informed, stay engaged, and empower your child to explore the wonders of technology a little at a time with kid-safe device that can’t access unsafe bots like Anima.

What do you think of AI chatbots? How do you navigate these issues? Let us know in the comments below!