We’ve seen what happens when technology grows faster than accountability. The lessons of the internet age are our warning label for the age of AI — and this time, we can’t afford to look away.
Platforms scaled to billions before any real oversight existed. By the time harm became undeniable — Cambridge Analytica, teen mental-health crises, election interference — the companies were too powerful to rein in.
They promised self-policing but acted only after advertiser pressure or public tragedy. Meta received 1.1 million reports of under-13 users on Instagram and removed only a fraction.
From Cassidy Wolf, a teen survivor of webcam hacking tutorials hosted on YouTube, to Mason Bogard, who died after attempting a viral challenge YouTube refused to remove, we saw what “trust us” really meant.
Today, AI companies ask for the same privilege — voluntary commitments instead of objective standards. Without oversight, history will repeat itself.
Platforms profited from illegal activity while claiming to be mere “carriers,” not publishers. Policymakers never imagined that private companies would become the backbone of public life.
Coco Arnold, 17, died after buying counterfeit pills laced with fentanyl from a dealer on Instagram. Despite clear evidence, the account reappeared within hours. Instagram faced no consequence.
AI firms are adopting the same playbook — disclaiming responsibility for harmful or illegal outcomes produced by their models.
For trillion-dollar tech companies, billion-dollar fines barely register. When the FTC announced a $5 billion penalty for Facebook, its stock price rose. The lesson? Profit beats punishment
Data breaches, mass surveillance, and behavioral manipulation continued unchecked. Users paid the price for corporate impunity.
The same companies that shrugged off those fines are now leading AI, and proposed penalties remain too weak to matter.
Social platforms designed their systems to amplify anger — weighing the “angry” reaction five times more than a “like.” Behind closed code, they decided what billions saw, fueling division and despair.
Research links algorithmic exposure to spikes in teen anxiety, eating disorders, and suicide.
Gavin Guffey, 17, was targeted by sextortionists who found him through Instagram’s algorithm. After his death, the same scammers used those same tools to target others.
I systems today are even less transparent. Their training data, decision logic, and risk models remain black boxes — invisible to the public and regulators alike.
AI offers boundless potential—and real risks. Help build the guardrails that protect innovation, privacy, and democracy.
