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The Download: regulators are coming for AI companions, and meet our Innovator of 2025

Rhiannon Williams

created: Sept. 16, 2025, 12:10 p.m. | updated: Sept. 22, 2025, 11:20 a.m.

But another threat entirely—that of kids forming unhealthy bonds with AI—is pulling AI safety out of the academic fringe and into regulators’ crosshairs. A study published in July, found that 72% of teenagers have used AI for companionship. And stories about “AI psychosis” have highlighted how endless conversations with chatbots can lead people down delusional spirals. If you’re interested in reading more about AI companionship, why not check out:+ AI companions are the final stage of digital addiction—and lawmakers are taking aim. + An AI chatbot told a user how to kill himself—but the company doesn’t want to “censor” it.

2 months, 4 weeks ago: MIT Technology Review