Latest / Conversations: Special Guests with Preston Scott / Parents - The AI, Gaming Worlds Are Traps For Your Kids

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Parents - The AI, Gaming Worlds Are Traps For Your Kids · Conversations: Special Guests with Preston Scott

• 0:03
  Speaker 1: All right, welcome to the second hour Tuesday. Here on
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  Speaker 1: the Morning Show, September the sixteenth show, five thousand, four
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  Speaker 1: hundred and fifty three. Jose's over there in Studio one A.
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  Speaker 1: I am here in Studio one B, and I am
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  Speaker 1: pleased to have with me Mike Watkins. He is the
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  Speaker 1: CEO of the Northwest Florida Health Network. Mike, Welcome to
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  Speaker 1: the program. How are you? Ooops, I'm sorry. It always
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  Speaker 1: helps to answer the phone. Hi, Mike, Sorry about that.
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  Speaker 2: Hey, Preston, good morning, Glad to be here.
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  Speaker 1: Let's kind of set the stage here by explaining to
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  Speaker 1: people a little bit about the Northwest Florida Health Network.
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  Speaker 1: What is it?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I've been doing this work for about thirty four
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  Speaker 2: years and hearing the Panhandle, like what I like to
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  Speaker 2: say is from Pensacola, Perry As eighteen counties, and in
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  Speaker 2: those we're really unique in that we're the only company
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  Speaker 2: in the country there's a nonprofit that manages all the
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  Speaker 2: money for subsuse, mental health, and foster care adoption. So
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  Speaker 2: we kind of have the whole ball of waxed and
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  Speaker 2: then we turn around and use community organizations to do
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  Speaker 2: that direct care in a way that reflects the values
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  Speaker 2: of the Panhandle.
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  Speaker 1: How do you determine what you do, where you do it,
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  Speaker 1: and how it gets done.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean we have as you know, you you
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  Speaker 2: interview them all the time. We have a wonderful delegation.
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  Speaker 2: The folks in the legislature really set forth the criteria
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  Speaker 2: of what is abuse and neglect in the State of
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  Speaker 2: Florida by law, under what conditions do the state and
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  Speaker 2: get involved. So if the state does remove a child,
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  Speaker 2: obviously we've become involved to try to take care of
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  Speaker 2: them using foster parents some in the rare cases, you know,
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  Speaker 2: adoption when it comes to substitute mental health things that
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  Speaker 2: we talk about on the daily, like you Baker ax
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  Speaker 2: are counseling outpatient and patient all those things that really
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  Speaker 2: step forward in the Florida statutes.
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  Speaker 1: Our conversation is coming about in fairness. I think it's
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  Speaker 1: important for people to know because I was sent a
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  Speaker 1: flyer that was found in a local library and it
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  Speaker 1: was from the Northwest Florida Health Network and it deals
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  Speaker 1: with a chat bot named Tests and I offered some
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  Speaker 1: thoughts relative to our conversations from stories in the news
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  Speaker 1: about some relative dangers of chat bots, especially stories that
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  Speaker 1: we've chronicled here even this morning on the program, Mike
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  Speaker 1: tell us about tests and why this flyer exists.
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  Speaker 2: Yes, sir, we do have I think some distinctions that
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  Speaker 2: make here. The chatbot is a free resource across the handle.
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  Speaker 2: It was intended for folks that could not get access
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  Speaker 2: to a counselor mental health services. This is not mental health.
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  Speaker 2: It's more coaching and wellness to try to get them
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  Speaker 2: to the next person, a live person that can help
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  Speaker 2: them in this particular case. It's very explicit. I think
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  Speaker 2: this is the distinction that I want to make sure
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  Speaker 2: your listeners new is this is not generative at AI.
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  Speaker 2: So I know there's a lot of folks out there
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  Speaker 2: doing AI. I think it's a race, you know, to
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  Speaker 2: see who can take over the world. Gemini Chat, GPT,
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  Speaker 2: you know, grock, All of those things are true AI platforms.
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  Speaker 2: This chat chat body is essentially scripted. It's inside of
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  Speaker 2: you know, walls for a better lack of a better word. Uh.
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  Speaker 2: This says exactly what can be said or interacted with
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  Speaker 2: the user on the other end.
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  Speaker 1: This is The Morning Show with Preston Scott. Back with
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  Speaker 1: Mike Watkins with Northwest Florida Health network, and Mike, I
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  Speaker 1: think that's you're you're drilling into the key here and
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  Speaker 1: the distinction. When someone sees a flyer like this, I
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  Speaker 1: think they need to understand a little bit deeper. When
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  Speaker 1: you when you talk about, in my words, not yours, guardrails,
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  Speaker 1: That's what I'm kind of hearing you say that this
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  Speaker 1: is not an AI interactive program that's off the chain
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  Speaker 1: that can kind of do what it says, interpret things
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  Speaker 1: its own way. You have basically programmed answers for specific questions.
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  Speaker 1: Is that fair?
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  Speaker 2: Yes, sir, it's it's a predetermined script, so we already
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  Speaker 2: understand exactly what can and can't be said in terms
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  Speaker 2: of what the boundaries are guardrails, as you pointed out.
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  Speaker 1: So if someone reaches out and makes this phone call
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  Speaker 1: a kid, you know it's it says chat anytime day
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  Speaker 1: or night test is available, they're going to they a
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  Speaker 1: kid might not get an answer that they're looking for,
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  Speaker 1: They're they're going to get something within the parameters of
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  Speaker 1: the scripting.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, so that's the intent, you know, we have. There's
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  Speaker 2: a couple of things I think that's context. Well, here
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  Speaker 2: us Number one is, you know, ninety five percent of
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  Speaker 2: the kids thirteen to seventeen have access to a smartphone.
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  Speaker 1: Right.
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  Speaker 2: That's been prevalent since about twenty fifteen. So when you
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  Speaker 2: look at all of the literature, they have the devices
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  Speaker 2: and they have the access, and they may not have
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  Speaker 2: buy the other things or spend time on other things,
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  Speaker 2: but they're going to spend time on this. We know
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  Speaker 2: that for a fact. Our intent here was to try
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  Speaker 2: to bridge the gap for you know, folks that couldn't
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  Speaker 2: get help or have someone to talk to. And I
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  Speaker 2: think there's two things that would point to that impacted
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  Speaker 2: our decision. One it was you know during COVID and
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  Speaker 2: a lot of people were at home, right, they weren't
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  Speaker 2: going to school, they weren't going to work, those kinds
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  Speaker 2: of things, even in Florida. Number Two, you know, I
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  Speaker 2: grew up in Walsall. I don't know if you know
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  Speaker 2: where that is in Washington County, but there's not a
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  Speaker 2: lot of mental health counsels in Walsaw. And I was
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  Speaker 2: fortunate enough to have a father in the home or
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  Speaker 2: you know, marine and retired law enforcement. So I had
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  Speaker 2: that structure. I had that person, you know, to hold
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  Speaker 2: me accountable and have the engagement. A lot of these
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  Speaker 2: kids don't, and that's just the sad truth.
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  Speaker 1: I think that what you're doing makes sense as you're
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  Speaker 1: explaining it. I think I understand the concern that a
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  Speaker 1: parent would have stumbling upon just seeing chat bot and
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  Speaker 1: not knowing some of the distinctions that you're describing. Is
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  Speaker 1: that a fair observation, Mike.
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  Speaker 2: It's absolutely fair. In fact, I was just with the
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  Speaker 2: Attorney General and Sheriff A. J. Smith, and if I
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  Speaker 2: could just say a quick shout out, you know, you know,
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  Speaker 2: please pray for Sheriff Smith who's undergoing a kidney transplant
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  Speaker 2: this morning. He's weighing heavily on my mind, you know.
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  Speaker 2: And a friend and to Franklin County and the Panhandle.
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  Speaker 2: So with that said, they just did Operation Summer Hurricane
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  Speaker 2: down in Franklin County and they need, you know, a
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  Speaker 2: dozen or so bad guys trying to meet up with
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  Speaker 2: our kids. And during the course of that discussion, you know,
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  Speaker 2: the question came out, you know, how do I protect
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  Speaker 2: my kids online? And there's a number of resources on
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  Speaker 2: the FDL website. There's a number of resources on the
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  Speaker 2: Training Journal's website, so I would point folks there. But basically,
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  Speaker 2: the message that we came up with was, you know, plan,
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  Speaker 2: check and protect. And we're trying to think of something
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  Speaker 2: to get parents engaged that they need to plan around
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  Speaker 2: what devices they have and what apps they have. They
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  Speaker 2: need to check those devices about who's messaging their kids
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  Speaker 2: and what are they saying. Ultimately they can protect their
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  Speaker 2: kids online. And Preston Uh, you have pointed out the
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  Speaker 2: very first step. There needs to be a plan. Parents
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  Speaker 2: should be asking these questions. They should be asking me
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  Speaker 2: and others, teachers and coaches, and and and and their
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  Speaker 2: you know, their neighbors. You know, what is this about?
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  Speaker 2: How does it work? What are the limitations on it?
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  Speaker 2: That is one of the key elements to protect your
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  Speaker 2: kids online.
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  Speaker 1: Mike stand by. I want to are you good to
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  Speaker 1: hang out for a few more minutes?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I'll stay as long as you want to stay.
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  Speaker 1: Perfect Mike Watkins every day awesome. Mike Watkins with me
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  Speaker 1: from Northwest Florida Health Network. I think you know this
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  Speaker 1: is a topic. Friends. We we broached this a lot,
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  Speaker 1: and sadly more in recent years as we've watched it happen.
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  Speaker 1: And and I want to try to take this a
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  Speaker 1: step further, and I really want to challenge you, moms
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  Speaker 1: and dads. Look, there's a reason why we're drilling down
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  Speaker 1: into this right now at this time in the show,
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  Speaker 1: because you're either getting up in the Central time zone
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  Speaker 1: and getting your kids ready for school, or you're taking
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  Speaker 1: your kids to school. And we structured this program so
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  Speaker 1: that we could be friendly to parents with kids in
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  Speaker 1: the car, and we cannot underscore the dangers that are
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  Speaker 1: out there and the importance of all of this. So
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  Speaker 1: we're gonna talk some more next with Mike. Next on
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  Speaker 1: the Morning Show with Preston Scott w fl A, on
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  Speaker 1: your phone with the iHeartRadio app and on hundreds of
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  Speaker 1: devices like Alexa, Google Home, Xbox, and Sonos and Iheart's
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  Speaker 1: radio season final segment with Mike Watkins Northwest Florida Health Network,
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  Speaker 1: we're talking about what's going on with kids these days, primarily,
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  Speaker 1: I mean, really that's the issue. Why do young people
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  Speaker 1: turn to chatbots?
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  Speaker 2: Well, I think you know, that's where they are. You know,
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  Speaker 2: that's like asking, you know, why are the kids on
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  Speaker 2: a swing? Well, they're at the park, you know, And
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  Speaker 2: when we were growing up, that's where the kids were.
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  Speaker 2: So ninety five percent of all the kids have thirteen
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  Speaker 2: to seventeen have a smartphone. It's very accessible, it's affordable
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  Speaker 2: now you can get in the US market. So that's
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  Speaker 2: where the kids want to be. That's where their social
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  Speaker 2: network is. I think one of the dangers of that,
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  Speaker 2: of course, is how they use it, that you've rightfully
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  Speaker 2: pointed out, and the fact that it's not just in
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  Speaker 2: the old days. You know, we were talking pressing. You're
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  Speaker 2: worried about, you know, the creepy guy at the park
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  Speaker 2: or the creepy guy down the street. This device allows,
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  Speaker 2: you know, any person in the world, any creep in
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  Speaker 2: the world, can reach out and touch your kid.
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  Speaker 1: And once someone starts getting into that door, then not
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  Speaker 1: only are they sowing confusion, not only are they swing doubt,
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  Speaker 1: not only are they picking off the vulnerable, they can
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  Speaker 1: radicalize them.
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  Speaker 2: Well, they're subject to whoever's on the other end of
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  Speaker 2: that phone. So whether that's messaging or chat bot or
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  Speaker 2: whatever the case may be. You know, we talked about
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  Speaker 2: plan check to tech because our protect because you know,
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  Speaker 2: parents aren't filling that role. They may not know how
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  Speaker 2: to do that role. They may not know how to
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  Speaker 2: use Snapchat or Instagram or Twitter. I certainly have my
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  Speaker 2: challenges on that I don't have all those platforms. I
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  Speaker 2: got four daughters twenty eight, nineteen, seventeen, and eleven. So
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  Speaker 2: we've been through this a couple of times. But the
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  Speaker 2: world changes every day, yep, And you've got to ask
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  Speaker 2: yourself what can the parent do to stand between you know,
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  Speaker 2: the bad guys and their kid.
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  Speaker 1: So if we look at tests the chatbot that you
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  Speaker 1: promote out there, it is to maybe simplify, it is
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  Speaker 1: a bridge that you make available twenty four to seven
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  Speaker 1: to a kid that might be in crisis to get
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  Speaker 1: them to a live help, a counselor person that can
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  Speaker 1: assist them. Is that Is that about accurate?
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  Speaker 2: Exactly? And we tied it to the Appalachi Center, who's
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  Speaker 2: one of our and full disclosure, one of our major
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  Speaker 2: you know contractors.
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  Speaker 1: Okay, they have a.
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  Speaker 2: Twenty four hours, seven days a week line, So any
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  Speaker 2: emoji or any statement of self harm or harm to
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  Speaker 2: others are going to be you know, forwarded to the
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  Speaker 2: Appalachi Center for review and ultimately that could result in
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  Speaker 2: a welfare check or a you know, a law enforcement
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  Speaker 2: officer going out to that house if they don't voluntarily
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  Speaker 2: accept that help. I mean, we built that intentionally that
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  Speaker 2: design intentionally there because we did not We wanted to
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  Speaker 2: do the opposite of what your concern was. We wanted
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  Speaker 2: to protect and preserve life and not facilitate in any way.
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  Speaker 1: What would in in closing You and I talked in
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  Speaker 1: the break about this. Obviously, parents, if you've got young kids,
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  Speaker 1: demand transparency and openness so that it is custom, that's
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  Speaker 1: what you do, so that when they're teens and tweens,
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  Speaker 1: it's just what mom and dad do. It's not an
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  Speaker 1: insult to them. But Mike, you know this, kids that
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  Speaker 1: are already in that stage of they've got this privacy
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  Speaker 1: when you walk in the door, the laptop goes down,
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  Speaker 1: or the tablet goes dark, or whatever the case might be.
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  Speaker 1: What advice do you give parents?
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  Speaker 2: Well, I think you know this has been heavily on
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  Speaker 2: my mind the last week with the Charlie Kirk event
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  Speaker 2: and he talked about salt and light. You know that
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  Speaker 2: salt has to be that wisdom as parents both of
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  Speaker 2: us are, you know, parents of girls that you're engaged,
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  Speaker 2: you spend the time, and that you provide that wisdom
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  Speaker 2: whenever possible. And I think we agree that needs to
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  Speaker 2: happen early on. It's harder, the longer, the further you go.
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  Speaker 1: Yep.
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  Speaker 2: And then there has to be light. There has to
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  Speaker 2: be light and transparency on an accountability on behavior. You
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  Speaker 2: would never allow your kid to go to certain people's houses.
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  Speaker 2: Why in the world would you allow them to go
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  Speaker 2: to certain locations on the internet or the web where
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  Speaker 2: you know they're at risk of harm? So, as parents,
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  Speaker 2: I think we've got to look at those resources. Doctor
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  Speaker 2: Jonathan Hey, doctor Warren Ferrell, you know the Surgeon General
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  Speaker 2: advisory on social media and youth and try to arm ourselves.
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  Speaker 2: It reminds me the armor of God if he is
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  Speaker 2: six and through eighteen. How do we armor ourselves so
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  Speaker 2: that we can protect our children?
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  Speaker 1: Good stuff, Mike, and I'll remind parents, you're paying for
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  Speaker 1: the phone. It's yours, it's not theirs. Mike, thanks very
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  Speaker 1: much for the time this morning. I appreciate it.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, sir, thank you pressing.
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  Speaker 1: Mike Watkins with us from the Northwest Florida Health Network,
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  Speaker 1: And again I thought it was important to give him
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  Speaker 1: an opportunity to explain that chatbot program. I feel very
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  Speaker 1: good about it. I hope that future flyers assure and
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  Speaker 1: assuage any concerns that a parent might have upon stumbling
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  Speaker 1: on it, because I'm not sure it does that, but
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  Speaker 1: I love what they're trying to do and leveraging technology
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  Speaker 1: with guardrails smart way to do it. Twenty seven past
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  Speaker 1: the hour