Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

People are rightly sceptical about scientific discoveries made in secret or without scrutiny. And anyone claiming to have found a new planet with a toy telescope, would not be taken seriously. Recent leaks of internal Facebook research on the mental health of children and young people have caused a great stir on both sides of the Atlantic.

Phone screen with Facebook, Messenger, WhatsApp and Instagram apps visible

By Professor Andrew Pryzbylski, senior research fellow Oxford Internet Institute.

Many have claimed this research is damning, but to undertake proper science and research, you need proper researchers and scientists and access to accurate information. You could not have a better example, than the massive effort made during the pandemic.  Everyone may be an epidemiologist now but, happily, there have been real epidemiologists to do the hard science.

Sometimes it really is rocket science. And scholars need accurate data to find out what is happening and provide answers. That is why, today, a group of scientists and researchers from around the world have come together [in a letter] to ask one of the biggest companies in the world, Meta, which owns Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, to let us do what we do best – carry out research.

This is no small issue. The stakes are really high. A lot is being said about a crisis in teenage mental health – with blame being placed squarely on social media companies. In a polarised world this is an easy, yet irresponsible, claim to level without data. Understandably, perhaps, these companies are very defensive and, in response to the criticism, they have said they will carry out their own research.

Read the full story on the University of Oxford website

Similar stories

Can we truly align AI with human values? - Q&A with Brian Christian

Brian Christian is an acclaimed American author and researcher who explores the human and societal implications of computer science. His bestselling books include ‘The Most Human Human’ (2011), ‘Algorithms to Live By’ (2016), and ‘The Alignment Problem’ (2021), the latter of which The New York Times said ‘If you’re going to read one book on artificial intelligence, this is the one.’ He holds a degree from Brown University in computer science and philosophy and an MFA in poetry from the University of Washington. Here, Brian talks about the latest chapter of his career journey: starting a DPhil (PhD) at the University of Oxford to grapple with the challenge of designing AI programs that truly align with human values.