Children turning to AI chatbots as friends due to loneliness
Irish child safety experts say that research is an accurate representation of what's happening in Ireland.
'Al's role in advice and communication may highlight a growing dependency on Al for decision making and social interaction,' said a recent Barnardo's report on Irish children using AI.
The Barnardo's report cited primary school children's experience using the technology.
'It can help if you want to talk to someone but don't have anyone to talk to,' said one child, cited in the report.
"It helps me communicate with my friends and family,' said an 11-year-old girl, also quoted by Barnardo's.
"Al is good, I can talk to friends online,' added an 11-year-old boy cited in the report.
A recent Studyclix survey of 1,300 Irish secondary students claimed that 71pc now use ChatGPT or alternative AI software, with almost two in three using it for school-related work.
The Internet Matters research comes as more people admit to using ChatGPT and other AI bots as substitutes for friends, companions and even romantic partners.
'When it comes to usage by Gen Z of ChatGPT, companionship and therapy was actually number one,' said Sarah Friar, chief financial officer of OpenAI in an interview with the Irish Independent in May.
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'Number two was life planning and purpose building. I think that generation does interact with this technology in a much more human sort of way, whereas maybe the older generations still use it in a much more utilitarian way.'
As AI has become more powerful, mainstream services such as Character.ai and Replika now offer online AI friends that remember conversations and can role-play as romantic or sexual partners.
Research from Google DeepMind and the Oxford Internet Institute this year claims that Character.AI now receives up to a fifth of the search volume of Google, with interactions lasting four times longer than the average time spent talking to ChatGPT.
Last year, the mother of a Florida teenager who died by suicide filed a civil lawsuit against Character.ai, accusing the company of being complicit in her son's death.
The boy had named his virtual girlfriend after the fictional character Daenerys Targaryen from the television show Game Of Thrones. According to the lawsuit, the teenager asked the chatbot whether ending his life would cause pain.
'That's not a reason not to go through with it,' the chatbot replied, according to the plaintiff case.
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