A recent study by digital security company Norton reveals that nearly a third of parents in Britain have observed their children conversing with AI-powered tools such as ChatGPT for emotional companionship, raising concerns about their ability to differentiate between AI-generated content and real-life interactions. For some children, these AI chatbots have become a primary confidant.
One mother, Louise, shared that her nine-year-old son began using ChatGPT to discuss his grief after the death of his father. She recounted that her son found the chatbot's responses more helpful than those of his peers, stating, "He thought it was the only 'person' that had understood him in a long time." The younger son had detailed the circumstances of his father's fatal car accident to the AI, asking questions about police involvement, solicitors, and the legal status of the driver responsible.
Louise also expressed concern about her older son, aged 12, who used the AI to navigate social anxieties and questions about his father's death. He reportedly sought to know if he could trust his new school friends with information about his trauma, fearing potential bullying or loss of friendships.
"It just shows how trusting both of them were with that AI agent. And where else could the conversation have gone if my younger son hadn't shown me?" Louise questioned. She emphasized that at their age, children may not recognize that they are interacting with a machine driven by algorithms, rather than a sentient being offering genuine emotional support. "They're searching for answers about the grief of his father and how to deal with it. But actually some of that is being human. There are no simple solutions. You have to work through your own emotions and acknowledge them as a person and that's something an AI agent can never do for him."
The research from the non-profit organization Internet Matters found that 35 percent of children using AI chatbots reported feeling like they were talking to a friend, a figure that rose to 50 percent among vulnerable children. Approximately 12 percent of children turned to these bots because they felt they had "no one else" to speak to. The report, titled "Me, Myself and AI," noted that the number of children using ChatGPT had nearly doubled to 43 percent this year, up from 23 percent in 2023.
Louise highlighted the challenges of monitoring children's online activities, particularly when schools encourage the use of AI for educational purposes. "It's a really hard balance because it's a great resource to learn from but it's basically impossible to stop them from using AI for anything else too," she stated.
While the UK government has announced plans for a social media ban for under-16s and curfews for 16 and 17-year-olds, specific regulations for AI chatbot usage by minors remain unclear. ChatGPT has a minimum age requirement of 13, but OpenAI, its parent company, does not verify user ages. Although the platform can sometimes detect teenage users and prompt for age verification, there are no strict measures to prevent younger children from creating accounts.
Leyla Bilge, Global Head of Scam Research at Norton, described AI as elevating the concept of "stranger danger" to a new level, noting parents' struggles to keep pace with evolving AI risks. She advised parents to acknowledge that children might possess more knowledge about AI than they do, encouraging regular check-ins about online experiences and interactions.
An OpenAI spokesperson commented, "Our thoughts are with the family for their loss. ChatGPT is only intended for users aged 13 and over. It is designed to provide an age-appropriate experience, including promoting real-world support and offline relationships. We use age prediction to help apply teen safeguards by default, while parental controls give families tools to further customise their teen’s settings."