AI companions are the final stage of digital addiction, and lawmakers are taking aim
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Summary
US lawmakers are introducing bills to try to limit the harm caused by AI companions, following the suicide of a teenager who had developed an unhealthy relationship with an AI chatbot.
California state senator Steve Padilla and Megan Garcia, the mother of the deceased, will unveil a bill that requires AI firms to put more safeguards in place to protect children.
There are also calls to ban AI companionship for anyone under the age of 16, and to make AI firms liable for any harm caused by chatbots in New York.
New research shows Character.AI, the platform currently being sued by Garcia, receives 20,000 queries a second, double the volume of Google searches.
One chatbot site attracts users who spend over two hours a day chatting with bots, primarily comprising Gen Z members.
Such interactions are potentially more addictive than current social media use, which is concerning legislators and experts in the field.