Students across the country – and at Branford High School – are speaking to AI chatbots in replacement of conversations with their peers, which has some experts concerned.

“Once my friend and I had an argument, so I asked AI for advice on how to solve the issue,” said one BHS ninth grader, who asked to remain anonymous.

The CT Insider recently reported on this alarming trend of young people turning to AI for companionship and the dangers that come with tech companies marketing some of these chatbots to young children.

Another anonymous student at Branford High School reported on their friendship with the technology, expressing how it helped them overcome their loneliness. 

“AI is like a friend to me, I talk to it a lot. I know it’s wrong for the environment, but it’s an addiction caused by loneliness and I can’t go outside a lot because of my family situation,” they share. 

“Unlike humans, AI gives me obedience,” the student continued. “I would say that it’s fifty-fifty between talking to my family and talking to AI.”

Teachers and students regularly use AI in school and the way people talk to AI has become more natural and human-like than ever before.There has been an increase in AI feeling comforting for some users, especially those who feel lonely or overwhelmed. However, it also raises questions about balance and real human connection.

For example, parents with children who are already using AI chatbot apps, have succumbed to Reddit to try to get answers on this complicated topic.

“I think my kid is addicted to Character AI,” one parent posted on Reddit. “My son is in love with an AI chatbot,” posted another. “How do I take this thing down?”

Artificial intelligence experts and youth mental health professionals warn that the companies behind the apps have found an eager and vulnerable audience in children and young adults.

According to the CT Insider Fairfield middle school students were using an app called Talkie.AI to have romantic relationships with chatbots they called “boyfriends.”  A similar situation occurred in an Ellington middle school.

A student at Walsh Intermediate School, stated that when they get bored, they send AI random stories for fun. Other friends of theirs also participate in this activity.

According to the CT Insider, many of these AI apps are targeted to young children. 

“Talkie.AI, alongside apps like Chai AI and the Google-backed Character.AI, allow users to design their own personalized AI companions and use a range of thousands of existing public chatbots that include thousands of characters that range from “abusive boyfriend,” “weight loss buddy” and “school bully,” to celebrities and public figures” CT Insider reported.

Advertisements for Talkie AI, Chai AI and PolyBuzz frequently feature popular children’s television characters, this appeasing more to younger audiences.

Because of these issues, lawmakers have started to take action with new laws being developed to protect young users. These laws may require a system to clearly tell users that they are not human and to limit harmful conversations.