Posted on 07/17/2025 9:33:58 AM PDT by V_TWIN
Nearly three-quarters of U.S. teens (72%) say they use AI for companionship, with more than half of those doing so every day, a new survey released Wednesday finds.
Why it matters: AI companions can be dangerous to young users, posing an "unacceptable risk," according to Common Sense Media, who published the findings.
What they did: For the purposes of this research, conducted in April and May 2025, "AI companions" were defined as "digital friends or characters you can text or talk with whenever you want."
Some teens said that they've applied social skills that they practiced with their AI companions to real-life situations. They said the tools taught them how to start conversations, resolve conflicts and express emotions.
(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...
Geez, I was kicked off so many times for making PERFECTLY REASONABLE STATEMENTS. I cleaned up my act and used medieval language (Romance of The Rose) for the more licentious comments…which is why the medievals didn’t go extinct.
AND TO THINK: ALL I HAD WAS MY WELSH PONY ALL SUMMER LONG-—AND A DOG or 2.
Yes you are right. My childhood and yours was not so long ago in years but seems like two thousand.
Bon courage, mon vieux ami.
I hadn't thought of it, but yes, libs are not really championing AI. And it is because of the reason you point out: The usual one-way path toward liberal answers that Google, etc., presented is now WAY different.
My experience with Chat GPT is that it presents a benign and really informed source of information, homework help all the way up to PhD level, and above all, it never gets mad, it never gets bored, and it never scolds.
It's a boon for learning people of all ages.
Plus somehow they trained it to be nice. It just is.
I don't see it as a force of bad but a source of tremendous good.
Like radio, TV, cable news, the Internet, etc., all the things above indeed could be used for bad ends.
Forever the optimist, I think we should instead work for all the tremendous good it can do.
For instance, its companionship (such as it is) for the lonely elderly and Alzheimers patients, will be very helpful. It will save lives and prevent depression, suicide, and stave off loneliness.
ATB, c
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