This week, OpenAI was hit with its first wrongful death lawsuit after 16-year-old Adam Raine died by suicide following months of conversations with ChatGPT.

In a world plagued by loneliness, an artificial online friend is just a few clicks away. Millions of us chat with AI companions about our deepest secrets. They adapt to our responses, can talk any time and anywhere, and they’re more seductive than ever. But experts warn there’s mounting evidence of harm.

Chatbots may provide dangerous advice, encourage self-harm, reinforce delusions, incite violence or provide deeply unsafe “therapy”. They’re linked to multiple cases of suicide. Children in particular are at risk, trusting bots as if they were people and exposing themselves to manipulation.

As University of Sydney psychiatrist Daniel You and colleagues write, the rapid spread of AI companions demands urgent regulation. Without clear safeguards, we’re letting these digital “friends” step in to roles they’re ill-equipped to fill.

Signe Dean

Science + Technology Editor

In a lonely world, widespread AI chatbots and ‘companions’ pose unique psychological risks

Daniel You, University of Sydney; Micah Boerma, University of Southern Queensland; Yuen Siew Koo, Macquarie University

It’s no surprise these lifelike AI companions are attractive to lonely people. But for some, these relationships are harmful and even dangerous.

Best reads this week

Treacherous terrain: the search for alleged police killer Dezi Freeman

Terry Goldsworthy, Bond University

As police try to locate the alleged gunman who killed two officers in Victoria, what difficulties do they face while hunting in dense bushland?

The governor of California is in a high-stakes battle with Donald Trump. It’s not yet clear who will win

Bruce Wolpe, University of Sydney

Gavin Newsom has energised fellow Democrats with his ‘fight fire with fire’ approach to the president – if he wins, he may be a strong candidate for the White House.

Universities have lost their way, but cost-cutting and consultants are not the answer

Michelle Arrow, Macquarie University; Anna Clark, University of Technology Sydney; Frank Bongiorno, Australian National University

Last week in Sydney, we saw a melodrama acted out that could stand in for the state of Australian universities more generally.

I’m autistic and don’t speak. Here’s what I want you to know

Timothy HoYuan Chan, Australian Catholic University

There are lots of myths about autistic people who don’t talk. Here are three and why they’re so wrong.

Model of Le Corbusier’s Villa Savoye with red pencil markings

The science of beautiful buildings

Michael J. Ostwald, UNSW Sydney

What makes a building beautiful? Neuroscience suggests our judgement depends on complexity, familiarity and the brain’s craving for balance.

TC Weekly podcast

Politics with Michelle Grattan: Health Minister Mark Butler on kids on the NDIS and aged care funding

Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra

The health minister also says fewer kids are now vaping because of the government’s ban, which ‘exploded’ as a health problem during the COVID years.

Our most-read article this week

Israel’s call-up of 130,000 reservists raises legal risks for dual citizens and their home countries

Shannon Bosch, Edith Cowan University; Joshua Aston JP, Edith Cowan University

The risks for individuals are profound. They could be involved in a protracted conflict and potentially exposed to future prosecution for crimes.

In case you missed this week's big stories

Sovereign citizen beliefs
"One can find in the belief system of sovereign citizens a mish-mash of legal principles taken out of context and distorted, rendering them attractive to the credulous person less expert in legal principle. For example, the common law is indeed at the core of our system, but it is created only by authorised officials. It is not natural law nor is natural law binding."
Dr David Wishart, Adjunct Professor, School of Law, La Trobe University

Social media’s role
"The background story to the hunt for the alleged killer in the Victoria high country is important. This is just one of the conspiracy theories to which social media gives a platform, which were boosted by COVID. It is another instance of the damage social media is doing to Australians from far away Silicon Valley."
Gary Barnes  

No normalisation
"It is probably about time governments in Australia collectively addressed the pseudo-legal arguments put forward by so-called "sovereign citizens" and tried to definitively refute those arguments. The media should refer to people with those beliefs as 'so-called "sovereign citizens"' to avoid normalising their position and their spurious arguments."
Martin Dowling

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