Nearly three-quarters of teens say they've used an AI companion in the past year, often turning to chatbots instead of parents. After multiple incidents involving harm, the FTC has launched an inquiry into chatbot companies.

The release of Open AI's ChatGPT has accelerated the development of artificial intelligence and warnings about its impact on society.

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A new AI chatbot app tailored for teenagers is being developed, aiming to address concerns about the mental health impacts of AI companions. Recent data indicates that nearly three-quarters of teens have interacted with AI chatbots, and some companies face lawsuits and regulatory scrutiny following reports of harm to children. OpenAI is introducing a teen-specific version of ChatGPT with features such as age prediction, parental approval requirements, and crisis notifications to parents. 

Experts note that while these measures are a step forward, more research is needed to understand the full impact of AI on teens, especially as younger users may be more emotionally dependent on AI. Parents are encouraged to monitor not just the platforms their children use, but also how they use them, particularly in emotionally vulnerable situations. Open conversations and new safety guardrails are recommended, though no system is foolproof.

AI chatbots raise new concerns for teens' mental health

There is a new AI app in the works that specifically designed for teens. Let's talk about what parents need to know. And first some background and this might surprise you. Nearly three-fourths of teens say they've talked to an AI companion in the past year. I don't have to tell you that chatbots aren't are specific are not specifically designed for kids and there have been several lawsuits against AI companies in the wake of multiple suicides. The Federal Trade Commission is also investigating some of these companies about the potential harm to children. But now OpenAI which makes chat GPT says it may have a solution. A teen version of their app. Here to discuss all of this is psychiatrist and AI mental health consultant Dr. Marlene Wei. Dr. Wei, thank you so much for joining us. So what do we know about this teen version of chat GPT? So they're building in a new age prediction system so that it will identify people who are under the age of 18. The minimum age to use chat GPT is 13. So the age prediction system will help parents know you need a parental approval to get into chat GPT now. There's now also a linked parental account that you can build so that it will notify you if there's crises or if kids using a chat GPT are having difficulties. So that's another way you can it's being used. And they're almost like some parental controls I was reading too where like you can tell the AI to erase the the history of the child's chat so that you know maybe it's not fed certain things. But is it is it the chatbot itself that's identifying the age of the child or can children just get around this? Teens get around this by changing the age their age and their profile? It's the age prediction system built within the algorithm so it's actually really novel and will be helpful. So if you type with no puncture punctuation and all lowercase, you'll be identified as a member of Generation Z or younger. How can parents know that their kids have maybe a problem with the way they're interacting with AI? That's a great question. One of the things I tell parents to look out for is if you're noticing your child is being more socially withdrawn and spending less time with their friends than before. Another thing is that it can show up in schools like their grades are dropping and sometimes also if they're just appearing more shut down and spending a lot of time on their devices and with AI. So you've seen this issue with your patients but are is this new app are these guardrails enough you think to keep teens safe? It's hard to say because we don't know yet. I think it's a movement in the right direction but there's a lot more research to be done. It's really the research is really catching up to the technology right now but I think it's a helpful direction. There there have been stories on on our about men in particular who've developed relationships with AI. Are teens particularly susceptible to this sort of relationship dimension or problematic AI use? They've looked at this and found that the younger teens are so usually around 13-14 they're more likely to trust AI compared to 15 and 16 year olds. So I think with that trust comes more potential emotional dependence and that's what we're seeing as one of the main problems over trust and emotionally depending on AI. Is there anything else that parents should know or should do to help their teens not be one of the ones that has problems with AI use? I think knowing not just the kind of AI platform they're using but also how they're using AI is really critical. So if teens are using it for research for school to write papers these are all really good benefits but if they're finding that they're turning to AI in crisis situations or for emotional support that's where we see a lot of the risk come from. But how do parents know those things unless they're sitting right next to their teens on the computer which nobody can really do all the time? Yes this is one of the hardest questions because monitoring that is so hard but having an open collaborative conversation is really the key but there's not really a perfect system. I think that's why these safety guardrails that is now built into the platform that's going to be helpful. Really useful stuff especially in a world where about one in three teens find conversations with AI companions as satisfying or more satisfying than talking to a real-life teen. Yikes. Dr. Marlene Way, thank you very much. Really appreciate it. Important topic.

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AI chatbots raise new concerns for teens' mental health

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