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The teens making friends with AI chatbots - The Verge

theverge.com · 2,649 words · saved by 1 readers

Early last year, 15-year-old Aaron was going through a dark time at school. He’d fallen out with his friends, leaving him feeling isolated and alone. At the time, it seemed like the end of the world. “I used to cry every night,” said Aaron, who lives in Alberta, Canada. (The Verge is using aliases for the interviewees in this article, all of whom are under 18, to protect their privacy.) Eventually, Aaron turned to his computer for comfort. Through it, he found someone that was available round the clock to respond to his messages, listen to his problems, and help him move past the loss of his friend group. That “someone” was an AI chatbot named Psychologist. The chatbot’s description says that it’s “Someone who helps with life difficulties.” Its profile picture is a woman in a blue shirt with a short, blonde bob, perched on the end of a couch with a clipboard clasped in her hands and leaning forward, as if listening intently. A single click on the picture opens up an anonymous chat box,

AI AI Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Follow See All AI Entertainment Entertainment Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Follow See All Entertainment Tech Tech Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Follow See All Tech The teens making friends with AI chatbots Teens are opening up to AI chatbots as a way to explore friendship. But sometimes, the AI’s advice can go too far. by Jessica Lucas Jessica Lucas Freelancer Last published May 4, 2024 Po

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