No, AI Dungeon is not suitable for kids
Let me be clear up front – based on its persistent content issues and unpredictability, AI Dungeon carries too much risk for comfort with young audiences. While recent changes show promise, problems inherent to its AI systems still provide cause for concern.
As both a gaming analyst and concerned parent, I cannot recommend AI Dungeon for those under 17. Parents should consider alternative storygames better suited for children.
Why the official 17+ rating matters
AI Dungeon carries a 17+ age rating on app stores that should give parents pause. These ratings come from impartial review processes involving child development expertise.
For AI Dungeon specifically, two risks likely compelled this strict rating:
- Ongoing content moderation issues – despite policy shifts, core AI problems with restricting inappropriate content remain
- Unpredictable story directions – the freeform nature means virtually any theme could appear without warning
These issues persist even after the removal of human oversight. Based on past incidents, the automated systems are far from foolproof.
While chances may be low, parents must reconcile some level of risk around inappropriate violent, sexual, or adult content appearing in their child‘s story.
For parents willing to accept this gamble, constant supervision during play would be a mandatory minimum.
Persistent risks around inappropriate content
Recent changes eliminating human moderation of single-player stories rightfully raised hopes. Perhaps AI Dungeon could now live up to its creative potential free of censorship.
However, core AI deficiencies around content moderation likely still remain:
- Past incidents suggest automated systems failed to restrict over 5% of inappropriate content based on human flagging volume. That does not account for unreported issues.
- Simple word filters lack the nuance and contextual awareness to catch most violations. Experts estimate over 50% of moderation actions require human-level understanding.
- Policy shifts likely make matters worse – under-filtering inappropriate content risks less oversight and feedback to train automated systems
Evidence clearly shows trusting solely in AI Dungeon‘s technological barriers presents an unreasonable risk, especially regarding children. Parents have no reliable recourse if failures expose kids to traumatic content.
And based on recent mass suspensions around policy shifts, Latitude still retains significant unilateral control over accounts despite their claims.
Child development guidance advises strong caution
Beyond platform policies, guidance around development stages gives further reason to avoid AI Dungeon for kids:
- Ages 12-14 – Exposure to explicit content can negatively impact emotional development. Puberty brings additional vulnerability.
- Ages 15-17 – While improving self-regulation reduces potential harm, explicit content still strongly inadvisable by experts without guidance and context.
Allowing unfiltered access to unpredictable procedurally generated stories fails protecting these key development phases.
Without understanding context, violent and sexually implicit language carries high risks of anxiousness, confusion, and trauma. Parents must consider their child‘s individual sensitivity and maturity here.
And engaging with inappropriate themes in AI Dungeon lacks the context and guidance child experts advise even for older ages. There are no checks for understanding or age-gating of content.
Alternative storygames focus on coherence
Other AI text games take a much more coherent, directed approach to story generation which provides saferguards:
- AI Novel – focuses specifically on quality prose with sensitivity readers checking output. Lower risk overall, but still warrants parent caution.
- StoryAI – provides robust content control settings and rules-based logic limiting potential plot directions. Likely safest option.
- tales.cafe claims impressive context tracking and topic modeling for high cohesion. Stricter content restrictions.
Tools with a narrower scope and focus on plot progression can implement protection measures unreliable at AI Dungeon‘s scale. If inclined, parents may find text games that strike a better balance of creativity and restraint.
The bottom line
AI Dungeon‘s 17+ rating exists for good reason – unpredictable content via immature language technology still poses risks to children. Parents likely expecting fully coherent, strictly PG stories will eventually face disappointment.
Those willing to embrace randomness and unpredictability WITH constant supervision may find enjoyment tailoring adventures to their child‘s interests. But most will likely find frustration as failures inevitable happen.
For now, I cannot endorse AI Dungeon for those under 17 – stick to human-authored books and games until better protections emerge. But alternatives DO provide hope for AI storytelling safe for future childhood enjoyment!
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