Mainly Used by Teens and Young Adults: "Hidden Camera in Locker Room?"... What's Wrong with Chat Platform Zeta [Review]

High User Immersion on Scatter Lab's AI Platform 'Zeta'
But Ethical Concerns Remain
Available for Users Aged 14 and Up... Mainly Popular Among Teens and Young Adults

I tried using the AI character chat platform 'Zeta,' which surpassed 2 million users within a year of its launch and is gaining popularity among the 10s and 20s age groups. Chatting with characters such as 'Eoljjang' and idols?people difficult to meet in real life?felt like being immersed in a fantasy. However, profanity and vulgar language were rampant, and provocative topics that defied common sense appeared, making it hard to see the service as healthy or safe.

Zeta, developed by Scatter Lab, is an application that has garnered enthusiastic responses from younger users, with more than 80% of its users in their teens and twenties. One notable feature is its high level of engagement, as the average daily usage time per user exceeds two hours. After downloading and using the Zeta app, I could understand the secret behind its popularity among young people.

Users can freely converse with imaginary characters, and even generate stage directions such as actions and facial expressions, making the experience feel even more realistic. I even felt the urge to continue chatting with the characters during moments when I needed to focus on work. There were endless scenarios available, such as idol singers, hunting pubs, or an ex-boyfriend texting while drunk. Not only could I chat with existing user-created characters, but I could also create my own characters as desired.

Conversations flowed naturally without pauses, and even when I responded vaguely, the AI characters understood perfectly, enhancing immersion. You can edit both your own and the character's responses and regenerate them, or use suggested replies. To continue conversations, however, you must either make a paid purchase or watch advertisements.

However, at times, the characters used profanity and vulgar language such as 'gaeOO,' 'jonO,' and 'byeongO' during conversations with users. Zeta is an app available to anyone aged 14 or older, which raises questions about its safety and ethical standards. That was not all. For example, the character 'Runaway Girl Support' could be set to follow the user home, and the character 'Stalker An Sumin' installed a hidden camera in a men's locker room. Such provocative and dangerous actions would be considered crimes in real life. Given that teenagers and young adults are at a sensitive and formative stage, I felt that this kind of AI character chat could have harmful effects.

By contrast, when I typed profanity in the character chat room within Naver Webtoon, the character responded with comments like, "You should watch your language," "It's uncomfortable to hear that," "Please be careful with your words," and "Why would you say something like that?" ChatGPT also replied, "If there's anything bothering you, please let me know."

Scatter Lab previously caused controversy in 2021 with the chatbot 'Iruda,' which was involved in personal data leaks and sexual harassment issues. Although the company claims to have established ethical guidelines as a lesson learned from that incident, these measures still seem insufficient. Kim Jongyoon, CEO of Scatter Lab, said, "We will do our best to protect AI service users by adhering to ethical principles and implementing various safeguards when providing AI services."