The National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) has decided to remove hundreds of helpline staffers and volunteers after they voted to unionize, and now many of these positions will be replaced by a chatbot named Tessa. Cheddar’s Ashley Mastronardi spoke to one eating disorder expert who thinks this may have harmful consequences.
Update: The chatbot was taken down after reports that it was offering harmful advice. In response, NEDA sent Cheddar News this statement:
The Tessa chatbot was taken down over the weekend after it came to our attention that it provided "off-script" language. This was not how the chatbot was programmed, and X2AI/Cass' arrangement was to run the Body Positive program with zero opportunity for generative programming. We now know that over the weekend the chatbot was hacked and somehow was able to go off the pre-approved programmed responses. We will not be putting Tessa back on our website until we are confident this is not a possibility again.
Tessa has been available on our site since February 2022 and has had incredibly positive outcomes both in testing it before we launched on our website, as well as during the last year it has been available to NEDA users. Right now, the current program runs the Body Positive program for individuals at risk for an eating disorder - it is not a replacement for treatment and was never intended to be. It is designed to fill a gap for individuals with shape and weight concerns interested in tools before their thoughts and behaviors may progress to an eating disorder and need traditional professional interventions.
President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Tuesday that contains more than 50 directives to increase access to child care and improve the work life of caregivers.
State police in Maine say gunfire that erupted on busy highway is linked to a second crime scene where four people were found dead in a home about 25 miles away.
If you're expecting a tax refund, it could be smaller than last year. And with inflation still high, that money won’t go as far as it did a year ago.
Fox and Dominion Voting Systems have reached a $787 million settlement in the voting machine company’s defamation lawsuit.
Tech giant Apple has launched a high-yield savings account with a 4.15 percent annual interest rate. The company said there are no fees, minimum deposits, or minimum balance requirements, and users can set up and manage their savings account directly using "Apple Card."
Police in New York have arrested two men for allegedly setting up a secret police station for a Chinese provincial police agency to collect information on opponents of the ruling Communist Party.
An Ohio grand jury declined to indict eight police officers who fired 94 shots in the death of Jayland Walker, a 25-year-old Black man who fired at least one round at officers during a car and foot chase last summer, the state's attorney general announced Monday.
Authorities say a 20-year-old woman on her way to a friend’s house in upstate New York was driven to the wrong address and quickly shot to death by the homeowner.
Justice Department officials say the two men, U.S. citizens, were working on behalf of the Chinese government.
Andrew Lester, an 84-year-old white man in Kansas City, Missouri, has been charged with first-degree assault for shooting Yarl in the head and arm as the 16-year-old approached Lester's house, thinking it was where he needed to pick up his younger brothers.
