The Center for Disease Control reports that over 48,000 Americans died from synthetic opioid (or fentanyl) overdoses in 2024. That number dwarfed the number of people who died from psychostimulants like methamphetamine at 29,000. As well as cocaine at 22,000, and other naturally occuring drugs at 8,000.

Fentanyl and similar substances have changed the game in drug policy, driving greater lethality and creating geopolitical rifts, as China exports precursors to the drug and Mexican cartels smuggle it across the border. Responsible drug policy is complicated and contentious. Here to explain the conservative approach to this area is Paul Larkin, Senior Legal Research Fellow here at the Heritage Foundation.

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More by Paul Larkin: https://www.heritage.org/staff/paul-j-larkin

Have thoughts? Let us know at heritageexplains@heritage.org

Over the last few months, users of Facebook and Instagram may have noticed a new avenue to interact with the platform: Meta AI. The AI tool, similar to language learning models like ChatGPT, X’s Grok, and Microsoft’s Co-Pilot, is able to carry forward advanced conversations with users and synthesize complex answers based on prompts.

Meta has leveraged its AI model to create a wide array of chatbots. Some are officially sanctioned by Meta and feature the voices of celebrities like Kristin Bell and John Cena. Others are created and customized by users.

Two weeks ago, the Wall Street Journal reported that they had had hundreds of test conversations with these chatbots over several months. They found that Meta had not prevented some of these chatbots from engaging in sexually explicit conversations with users, even with minor users. In addition, some of these chatbots were based on characters that are themselves minors.

This does not appear to be an accident on the part of Meta. Guardrails appear to have been removed or never put in place, with the aim of making the chatbots as engaging and addictive as possible.

This is just one example of the challenges that Big Tech and AI have placed before the American people. Here to talk about those challenges is Wes Hodges, Acting Director of the Center for Technology and the Human Person at The Heritage Foundation.

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Follow Wes Hodges on X: https://x.com/wesghodges

WSJ Article on Meta AI Chatbots:

https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/meta-ai-chatbots-sex-a25311bf

Have thoughts? Let us know at heritageexplains@heritage.org

In honor of Small Business Week, we are pleased to bring you a conversation with Sue Malone a true titan in the world of small business. As the founder of Strategies for Small Business, Sue has been instrumental in helping over 30,000 entrepreneurs secure capital to start or expand their businesses.

Paul Mullen guest hosts Heritage Explains this week in this conversation on entrepreneurship, what it means, and why it matters, as well as Sue’s advice for aspiring entrepreneurs.

Get in touch with Sue:

sue.operationnextstep@gmail.com

925-381-8409

Heritage's Wealth and Innnovation Project: https://www.heritage.org/wealth-and-innovation

Have thoughts? Let us know at heritageexplains@heritage.org