Constant Validation, Zero Conflict: What AI Romance Could Mean For Teen Relationships

“The technologies are developing super-fast, faster than we can keep up with as scientists..."

Parents editor at HuffPost UK

There’s a surprising statistic I came across yesterday that almost one in five (19% of) teens are – or know someone who is – in a romantic relationship with an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot.

The data came from the US-based Center for Democracy and Technology. And the picture isn’t so dissimilar in the UK, either.

Earlier this year Male Allies UK caught up with over 1,000 boys aged 12-16 years old and revealed one in five boys knew of someone their age who was in a relationship with an AI chatbot.

The same survey found over half of boys (58%) thought AI relationships were easier because they could control the conversation, and over a third (36%) admitted they preferred speaking to AI chatbots over family and friends.

Yet as teens increasingly turn to AI for everything from advice to romance, researchers are raising concerns that the technology could impact how they learn to navigate human relationships – especially at such a pivotal point in their development.

Writing in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, researchers from Arizona State........

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