Can AI Be Blamed For Teen Suicide?
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“But the experience he had, of getting emotionally attached to a chatbot, is becoming increasingly common. Millions of people already talk regularly to A.I. companions, and popular social media apps including Instagram and Snapchat are building lifelike A.I. personas into their products."
Why It Matters
The topic of teen friendships/relationships with AI chatbots has gained increased attention over the past several months, but the February suicide of a 9th grade young man (and his mom's legal pursuit of the AI company whose chatbot encouraged it) has recently brought greater awareness.
This article gives an excellent, comprehensive overview - it's not just about one teen's suicide. It's at the intersection of teens and technology, and these friendships/relationships with AI chatbots are only going to increase. Adults must help youth think through this topic and prepare them for this new world.
Having an AI chatbot "friend" sounds strange to many adults, but imagine you're a preteen or teen again and you could have a friend who:
is always there for you
will always listen
always wants to talk with you
always seems to care about you
won't judge you
won't get you in trouble
won't tell your secrets to anyone else
won't create drama
will give you advice
This is some of what an AI chatbot offers a preteen/teen. Does it sound so strange now?
How to Use it
Remember that this isn't "fringe." As the quote above notes, millions of people are already doing it, and "Instagram and Snapchat are building lifelike A.I. personas into their products."
Don't assume that a young person isn't lonely and therefore wouldn't find companionship with a chatbot. The feeling of loneliness often has nothing to do with how popular someone is or how many friends they have. People who seem to "have it all together" can still feel lonely!
Look at the list above about what an AI chatbot offers. Is there any preteen or teen who doesn't desire a friend like that? Don't assume the youth you know wouldn't use an AI chatbot.
As always, start with general questions and ask about their friends before you ask about them. "Have you heard of teens connecting with AI chatbots? Do any of your friends do it? Have you ever tried it out?"
Ask them why they think people their age would talk with and maybe even prefer an AI chatbot instead of a real person. Do they think people deep down would prefer chatbots over real friendships? Have an open discussion about why real friendships can be hard. Share some of your own experiences with friendships and why a real friendship is worth it, even when it's hard.
Ask them if they think there are any risks to chatbot "friendships." If so, what are they? You can use the information from the article to guide your discussion.
Use this as an opportunity to ask them about their own real friendships. Who are they closest to? Do they feel like they have deep friendships, or do they feel like their friendships are shallow? If they need to talk with someone, who would they go to? If they don't know or don't feel like they have anyone, ask them their opinions of some specific people. You could even recommend relatives or mentors that you trust if there's something they don't feel like they can talk about with you.
Encourage them to be the kind of friend to whom others can come instead of turning to a chatbot. Discuss what it looks like to be a good friend.
Discuss some of the spiritual implications of using AI chatbots. Can you count on chatbots to always give solid, biblical advice? Has God wired us to connect with real people, or is a chatbot an acceptable substitute? What does the Bible say about friendships?
Check out a couple Instagram videos about this article here and here.
There's a lot to discuss, so it may be helpful to have ongoing conversations about this topic instead of one big conversation!
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