Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

AI Chatbots Are Not Therapists. Reducing Harm Requires Regulation

Dignum, Virginia ; Ericson, Petter and Tucker, Jason Edward LU (2025) In Tech Policy Press
Abstract
The urgency of addressing the harms of AI chatbots was underscored in the recent US Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, “Examining the Harm of AI Chatbots.” During the hearing, parents of children recounted the harrowing stories of AI chatbot-influenced mental health emergencies, including self-harm and death, harms that were never inevitable. Instead, they were predictable consequences of a lax regulatory environment and a widespread culture of irresponsibility in the tech sector broadly, and Silicon Valley specifically. The 10th of September marks World Suicide Day, a stark reminder of why action is urgently needed on AI chatbots, as their intentional or unintentional misuse in mental health spaces proliferates.
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; and
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
AI, Therapy, chatbots, Risk, harm, Regulation
in
Tech Policy Press
project
Politics of AI & Health: From Snake Oil to Social Good - Funded by Wallenberg AI, Autonomous Systems and Software Program – Humanity and Society (WASP-HS)
language
English
LU publication?
no
id
c9438f98-046d-477b-abe9-3bf344490f44
alternative location
https://www.techpolicy.press/ai-chatbots-are-not-therapists-reducing-harm-requires-regulation/
date added to LUP
2025-09-22 08:40:02
date last changed
2025-09-25 10:38:28
@misc{c9438f98-046d-477b-abe9-3bf344490f44,
  abstract     = {{The urgency of addressing the harms of AI chatbots was underscored in the recent US Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, “Examining the Harm of AI Chatbots.” During the hearing, parents of children recounted the harrowing stories of AI chatbot-influenced mental health emergencies, including self-harm and death, harms that were never inevitable. Instead, they were predictable consequences of a lax regulatory environment and a widespread culture of irresponsibility in the tech sector broadly, and Silicon Valley specifically. The 10th of September marks World Suicide Day, a stark reminder of why action is urgently needed on AI chatbots, as their intentional or unintentional misuse in mental health spaces proliferates.}},
  author       = {{Dignum, Virginia and Ericson, Petter and Tucker, Jason Edward}},
  keywords     = {{AI; Therapy; chatbots; Risk; harm; Regulation}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  series       = {{Tech Policy Press}},
  title        = {{AI Chatbots Are Not Therapists. Reducing Harm Requires Regulation}},
  url          = {{https://www.techpolicy.press/ai-chatbots-are-not-therapists-reducing-harm-requires-regulation/}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}