Artificial intelligence chatbots are now a part of daily life for many families. As you make dinner, maybe you realize you're out of an ingredient. So, you ask a smart speaker what you can use instead. Or, you have trouble assembling a product you bought. For help, you chat with a virtual service agent online.

But children and teens increasingly turn to chatbots for entertainment or companionship. That's when these computer programs, designed to interact like humans, can be risky for young users.

Companies are investing a lot of time and money into growing AI platforms and chatbots that are not made with kids in mind. This means that chatbots may tell kids false, harmful, highly sexual or violent things.

As we collectively work to put up safety guardrails for this new technology, it's important for families to understand this technology and ways to protect young people.

Chatbots are AI-driven computer programs that listen to us and respond in friendly, human ways. They "learn" how to speak and write naturally by absorbing what we and millions of others tell them.

Advanced chatbots help users create characters that can talk for hours, giving the impression they are caring friends. Companion chatbots use "anthropomorphic" AI with human-like voices, personalities and conversation style. They can seem almost alive or like a trusted friend. This is especially the case for kids and teens who have more magical, less critical thinking.

One of the fun and incredible things about kids and teens is they are more magical thinkers than adults. This means that they become more attached to "parasocial" relationships. Parasocial relationships involve a connection between a person and someone they do not know well, a phenomenon AI can fuel. Children and teenagers can become very attached to and trust their AI avatars or online personalities that they construct. They can get drawn in by a bot that seems to really "understand" them.

At a time when people feel more lonely than ever, it might not be surprising that kids are turning to chatbots for friendship and advice. This becomes troublesome when you realize that even though they respond in warm, friendly ways, they don't care about our children.

One thing AI can never do is be a substitute for the safe, stable and nurturing relationships that children need to grow.

Unlike humans, chatbots don't have a sense of duty to protect kids. They only know what they learn from the internet and other users. This is one reason they might give false, threatening, misleading, violent or overly sexual answers and advice to young users.

Chatbots aren't required to sift through multiple sources and figure out what information seems trustworthy. They can misguide children or advise them to take dangerous actions based on scant knowledge of a given subject.

Chatbots also don't know a child's life story. Young or sensitive kids, those who are developmentally delayed or those living with trauma or mental health issues, might be more open to their influence.

It’s important to discuss AI chatbot use with your children. Ask whether they've used chatbots for fun or friendship, which platforms they like most, and if it has ever said anything creepy or false to them. Take a calm, curious approach so they feel safe telling you about their experiences. Suggest looking together at your child's chats with the bot to help them identify anything you think is inappropriate.

Discuss how it may be tempting to confide in a chatbot about something that feels embarrassing. Chatbots are not meant to be sounding boards for deeply personal issues. They should seek out trusted relationships with actual human beings, such as a parent, to help navigate the twists and turns of life.

It might help to remind them that the chatbot's only real goal is to tell them what they want to hear and keep them engaged. This isn't the same as genuine support. Reiterate that even though people can cause disappointment, those feelings can’t be avoided by engaging only with chatbots.

Talk about your child's frustrations and how to handle them. It's not always easy to connect with kids, especially in the tween to teen years. But there are ways to make kids of all ages feel seen, heard and respected. Family meals and car rides provide ample opportunities to connect with kids and discuss their struggles.

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Joanna Parga-Belinkie, MD, IBCLC, FAAP, is a neonatologist or baby doctor and a lactation consultant. She does clinical work in both the neonatal intensive care unit and in the newborn nursery with healthy babies. Dr. Parga-Belinkie works in Philadelphia where she is the director of a newborn nursery at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. She is a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Council on Communications and Media Executive Committee and also co-host of the AAP flagship podcast Pediatrics on Call.

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