Love March Movement blasts board over youth chatbot

Dr Daniel Thomas, chairman of the Love March Movement, has described the National Family Planning Board (NFPB) as a "disease to the nation and the nation's children" after a parent raised an alarm about the board's Yute Chatz chatbot.

The chatbot, which was launched in collaboration with UNICEF and U-Report Jamaica, is aimed at addressing issues related to youth sexual health, and has been operational since January. However, it has recently come under scrutiny for its content. The controversy began when a concerned parent alerted the Love March Movement about the nature of questions posed by the chatbot.

"The first thing that they encountered when they went on this app was that it asked them if they were male, female or other," Thomas said. This prompted the organisation to investigate further.

"If you play the role of a curious teenager, you can actually go down a particular rabbit hole that is quite, quite evil," he added. The chatbot includes questions like, "Could you tell me the sex you were assigned at birth?" with response options including "Male," "Female," "Other," and "Do not want to say." It also defines gender as encompassing characteristics of males, females, and non-binary individuals. According to the app, "Non-binary is also a type of gender and this includes persons who are neither male nor female." Thomas said that the app's approach to these sensitive topics is significantly different from Jamaica's cultural norms.

"Those kinds of questions really are underrated by a secular, more European kind of approach to sexuality and gender which is not part of our own cultural framework here," he stated.

Following the backlash, the Ministry of Health and Wellness, into which the NFPB was integrated as a division, issued a press release acknowledging public concerns and the temporary suspension of the service while assessments are conducted. The ministry emphasised that the service aligns with the health and family life policy of the Government, but recognised the need for a thorough review.

Thomas criticised the lack of oversight in the NFPB's initiatives, questioning how such a programme could have been approved for children without thorough scrutiny. He also suggested there was a problematic endorsement of the Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays as a contact for further questions, calling it "incredibly inappropriate".

The Love March Movement has received support from various sectors, including the Jamaica Umbrella Group of Churches and the National PTA, both of which have issued statements of concern.

"We cannot leave law and public policy to the desires, illusions and delusions of mentally ill people. Those issues should be addressed with care and support but it should not be compatible law, that's very foolish to do," said Dr Wayne West, chair of the Jamaica Coalition for a Healthy Society.

Attempts to get a comment from Lovette Byfield, executive director of the NFPB, proved futile.

- T.P.