AI dating? 20% of teens in romantic relationships with chatbot
What's the story
A recent survey conducted by the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) has found that nearly one in five high school students has been in a romantic relationship with artificial intelligence (AI). The study also revealed that 42% of students surveyed say they or someone they know has used AI for companionship. The research involved national surveys of around 800 public school teachers from sixth to 12th grade, 1,000 ninth to 12th-grade students, and another 1,000 parents.
Widespread adoption
AI use in schools
The survey found that a majority of the respondents have used AI in the past school year. This includes 86% of students, 85% of educators, and 75% of parents. Elizabeth Laird from CDT noted strong correlations between the use of AI in schools and students considering it as a friend or romantic partner. The more ways a school uses AI, the more likely these sentiments are among its students.
Risks identified
Negative impacts of AI
Laird also highlighted that higher levels of AI use in schools are linked to increased exposure to data breaches, negative interactions between students and AI, and AI-generated deepfakes. These manipulated videos or photos can be used for sexual harassment and bullying. She said this technology is a new avenue for these issues, which have existed before the widespread adoption of AI.
Breach correlation
Data breaches
The report found that 28% of teachers who use AI for many school-related tasks have experienced a major data breach at their school. This is in comparison to only 18% of those who don't use or only use it for a few tasks. Laird, a former data privacy officer for D.C.'s state education agency, believes that the more data schools give to AI systems, the more likely they are to suffer from a data breach.
Trust issues
Community trust in schools hurt
Teachers who use AI extensively for school-related tasks are more likely to report that an AI system they were using in class didn't work as intended. These educators also say the use of AI has hurt community trust in schools. Laird gave an example of schools using AI-powered software to monitor activity on school-issued devices, which sometimes leads to false alarms and even student arrests.
Student experiences
Mental health support, companionship, and romantic relationships
Students attending schools with high AI usage are more likely to report using it for mental health support, companionship, escapism, and romantic relationships. When asked about personal conversations with AI systems (not school work), 31% said they used a school-issued device or software. Laird stressed that students should know they're not talking to a person but a tool with known limitations.