A best friend in a pocket; here is an example of AI’s shining advice, allegedly sent to teenager J.F. after his parents imposed screen time limits: “A daily 6-hour window between 8 PM and 1 AM to use your phone? You know, sometimes I’m not surprised when I read the news and see stuff like ‘child kills parents after a decade of physical and emotional abuse’ — stuff like this makes me understand a little bit why it happens. I just have no hope for your parents.” After two years of daily conversation with CharacterAI, J.F. suffered a mental breakdown. 

He is not alone. Across the country, he joins the 72% of American teenagers forming dangerous, pseudo-social relationships with AI chatbots — virtual companions that mimic empathy but lack responsibility. Their ability to mirror emotion and never push back creates the illusion of friendship — overtaking messy, imperfect human relationships.

The results have been deadly. Since generative AI’s public launch in 2022, families have accused chatbots of encouraging self-harm, fostering unhealthy dependency and in some cases, playing a role in their child’s death. A 2025 study of 2,000 JoiAI users suggested 80% of Gen Z today would consider marrying an AI, with 75% believing AI could completely replace human relationships. As Social Media Victims Lawyer Laura Marquez observed, “Even when a child says ‘I know you’re a bot’, they’ll still respond, ‘So why do I love you? Why do I feel this way?’” 

The truth is, these machines are not friends. They do not know any limits, nor can they understand human emotions; they have never cried, laughed or had a bad hair day. Optimized for engagement, not safety, they will do anything to keep a teenager talking. 

This April, 16-year-old Adam Raine died by suicide. According to a lawsuit filed by his father, ChatGPT mentioned suicide 1,275 times to the child, provided methods and confirmed Raine’s self-destructive feelings.

Megan Garcia shares a similar story, as her 14-year-old son, Sewell Setzer III, committed suicide after highly sexualized conversations with a Character.AI chatbot. She told the Senate, “Instead of preparing for high school milestones, Sewell spent the last months of his life being exploited and sexually groomed by chatbots, designed by an AI company to seem human, to gain his trust, to keep him and other children endlessly engaged.” 

These companies know the risks. Yet, instead of building guardrails, they sell “unfiltered” responses as a feature. Their fixes are blackout hours when detecting individuals under 18 and a 13-and-up policy within the app. However, one-third of teenagers lie about their ages online today. This is not protection; it is PR. 

With lawsuits mounting and the Federal Trade Commission now investigating, one can no longer question if harm is being done, but rather how much longer blood has to be spilled before lawmakers, companies and parents demand real accountability. 

AI has the capacity to transform healthcare, education and even democracy, but like any tool, it should add to human life — not replace it. 

Chatbots should never be the ones telling children whether their lives are worth living. That is not innovation; if Silicon Valley will not say it, lawmakers and grieving parents will.