Area 02 of 06

When AI use starts to hurt

Dependency, confusion, crisis patterns, and the everyday outsourcing of hard decisions, studied carefully and without scare tactics.

Questions we ask

What happens when people hand their judgment to a model?
We study what happens when people stop deciding for themselves, and how they can stay the authors of their own choices.

Related concerns

Everyday judgment leaving the person
63 / 75 · miss -12
We mean the quiet, everyday habit of asking a model what is true, what to buy, what to say to a partner, or what a symptom means.
Open
Parasocial AI as primary confidant
88 / 100 · miss -12
Loneliness plus always-on chat creates a soft substitute for human care: affirmation-seeking sessions that stretch for hours.
Open

From the library

Continuous read

Sourced measurements

Published measurements tied to concerns in this research area.

Observations JSON

Companionship · perception · tier 2 · 100 pts
US states with enacted laws regulating AI companion chatbots or minors' chatbot use
18
US states · published 2026-09-01
“Thirty seven states introduced 124 chatbot-related bills in 2026, with thirteen of those signed into law–bringing the total number of state chatbot laws enacted in 2025 and 2026 to eighteen”
Future of Privacy Forum — Regulating the Chatbot: U.S. Chatbot Regulations Report
Count of enacted state chatbot laws 2025–2026; includes companion and minor-safety chatbot statutes.
Judgment · load · tier 1 · 75 pts
Share of US adults who use AI chatbots for health information or advice at least monthly
20%
US adults · published 2026-06-11
“To get medical advice — 20%”
Pew Research Center — Search and work are the most common uses for chatbots, 1 in 10 use these tools for emotional support
Pew reports ever-use for medical advice among U.S. adults; panel asks at-least-monthly — treat as upper-bound load until a monthly cut publishes.
Companionship · load · tier 1 · 50 pts
Share of US adults who have used AI for emotional support or companionship
10%
US adults · published 2026-06-11
“For emotional support or advice — 10%”
Pew Research Center — Search and work are the most common uses for chatbots, 1 in 10 use these tools for emotional support
Emotional support/advice is the closest national adult companionship measure; companionship alone is 4% in the same chart.
Judgment · perception · tier 1 · 75 pts
Share of US adults who say AI will worsen people's ability to think
53%
US adults · published 2025-09-17
“53% say AI will worsen people’s ability to think creatively, compared with 16% who say it will improve this.”
Pew Research Center — How Americans View AI and Its Impact on People and Society
Closest national measure to ability-to-think concern; wording is think creatively.
Companionship · load · tier 2 · 100 pts
Share of US teens who have used AI companions
72%
US teens ages 13-17 · published 2025-07-16
“Seventy-two percent of teens have used AI companions at least once, and over half (52%) qualify as regular users who interact with these platforms at least a few times a month.”
Common Sense Media — Talk, Trust, and Trade-Offs: How and Why Teens Use AI Companions
Companionship · load · tier 2 · 100 pts
Share of US teens who use AI companions regularly
52%
US teens ages 13-17 · published 2025-07-16
“Seventy-two percent of teens have used AI companions at least once, and over half (52%) qualify as regular users who interact with these platforms at least a few times a month.”
Common Sense Media — Talk, Trust, and Trade-Offs: How and Why Teens Use AI Companions
Companionship · load · tier 2 · 100 pts
Share of teen companion users who find AI conversations as satisfying as, or more than, real friends
31%
US teens ages 13-17 · published 2025-07-16
“Thirty-one percent of teens find conversations with AI companions as satisfying or more satisfying than those with real-life friends (21% say about the same quality, and 10% say more satisfying).”
Common Sense Media — Talk, Trust and Trade-Offs: How and Why Teens Use AI Companions
Reported among teens surveyed; companion ever-use is 72%.
Judgment · load · tier 1 · 50 pts
Share of US adults who have used ChatGPT or another AI chatbot
34%
US adults · published 2025-06-25
“Today, 34% of U.S. adults say they have ever used ChatGPT, according to a Pew Research Center survey.”
Pew Research Center — 34% of U.S. adults have used ChatGPT, about double the share in 2023
Panel asks ChatGPT or another chatbot; Pew measures ChatGPT specifically — a floor on broader chatbot use.