Overview
- An Autonomy Institute poll of 1,160 people aged 18–24 found 79% have used an AI companion, with about half using them regularly, 40% seeking emotional or therapeutic support, and 9% reporting intimate or sexual interactions.
- UCL authors, writing in the BMJ, warn that some youngsters are forming emotional bonds with chatbots and risk struggling to build lasting human relationships, urging designs that support rather than replace social connection.
- The BMJ paper advises health professionals to ask patients about chatbot use and screen for compulsive patterns, emotional attachment, and deference to AI for major decisions.
- Research cited by the authors includes an OpenAI study linking heaviest ChatGPT use with greater loneliness and reduced socialising, and a Common Sense Media survey showing some youths prefer AI conversations or would choose AI for serious talks.
- The UK tech secretary has asked Ofcom to examine how the Online Safety Act applies to chatbots as families pursue legal action, while Autonomy calls for measures such as banning sexualised AI for children and mandating robust self-harm intervention protocols.