AI chatbots and adolescent mental health: we need new research for the AI generation

Proteus Strategies co-founder Betsy Masiello argues that, given the risks AI chatbots pose to adolescent mental health, new social science research should be established for the AI generation to support policy interventions. She cites American Psychological Association research saying chatbots may miss subtle cues, and adolescents tend to treat them as quasi-human confidants, creating an "empathy gap." She notes that social media effects have long been difficult to study reliably due to privacy issues, and the American Academy of Pediatrics says existing evidence does not show clinically significant effects at the population level.