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.
Bragg's office has been calling witnesses to a grand jury investigating hush money paid on Trump’s behalf during his 2016 campaign. Law enforcement officials in New York City are making security preparations for the possibility Trump is charged and appears in court in Manhattan.
Actor Lance Reddick, who starred in the 'John Wick' franchise as well as 'The Wire' series, was found dead in his Studio City, Calif., home on Friday.
Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, serving time for the 2020 murder of George Floyd, pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting and failing to file tax returns to the state of Minnesota.
The International Criminal Court said Friday that it has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin for war crimes, accusing him of personal responsibility for the abductions of children from Ukraine.
Lawyers for Prince Harry have asked a judge to rule that a tabloid newspaper libeled the British royal with an article about his quest for police protection when he and his family visit the U.K.
Cheddar News' Shannon LaNier pays a visit to traditional Irish pub The Dead Rabbit in lower Manhattan on its biggest day of the year: St. Patrick's Day.
The mid-Atlantic is getting a taste of spring this weekend after a bit of rain.
Protests ensued after the State of Texas proposed taking control of the Houston Independent School District.
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voiced support for the city's reparations committee's recommendation to pay eligible Black adult residents $5 million
Texas officials have announced a takeover of Houston’s nearly 200,000-student school district.
