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1Teens Are Using Chatbots as Therapists. That's Alarming.
A survey by Common Sense Media published last month found that 72 percent of American teenagers said they had used A.I. chatbots as companions.
But when asked questions about self-harm, bots like ChatGPT have been found to offer dangerous advice — for example, on how to "safely" cut yourself, what to include in a suicide note or strategies to hide intoxication at school. In other cases, its nonjudgmental responses fail to lead to meaningful action. For vulnerable teenagers, even fleeting exposure to unsafe guidance can routinize harmful behaviors or provide dangerous how-to instructions.
Used responsibly, A.I. chatbots could offer scalable, affordable support and crisis outreach, especially in communities lacking mental health infrastructure. But such uses require rigorous scientific evaluation and regulatory guardrails.
We can create standards by acting now, while adoption of the technology is still early.
First, we need large-scale, teenager-focused clinical trials that evaluate A.I. chatbots both as stand-alone supports and as adjuncts to human therapists.
Second, we need clear benchmarks for what safe, effective chatbot responses look like in mental health crisis scenarios, especially for teenage users.
Finally, A.I. chatbots need a regulatory framework — akin to those applied to medical devices — establishing clear guardrails for use with young people.
therapist 英 [ˈθerəpɪst] 美 [ˈθerəpɪst] n. 治疗师，咨询师
近义词辨析：doctor（医生）强调治疗疾病；therapist更强调疗养、康复。
companion 英 [kəmˈpænjən] 美 [kəmˈpænjən] n. 同伴，伴侣
a traveling companion 旅行同伴
intoxication 英 [ɪnˌtɒksɪˈkeɪʃn] 美 [ɪnˌtɑːksɪˈkeɪʃn] n. 醉酒；陶醉
intoxicated adj. 喝醉的，非常陶醉的
fleeting exposure 短时间的接触
fleeting adj. 快速移动的，时间非常短暂的
fleet v. 快速地移动
a fleeting moment 短暂的时刻
scalable 英 [ˈskeɪləbl] 美 [ˈskeɪləbl] adj. 可扩展的，可增大的
crisis outreach （本文）心理危机的干预，危机干预和援助
outreach n. 给社区或有需要的人提供的服务
adoption 英 [əˈdɒpʃn] 美 [əˈdɑːpʃn] n. （本文）应用，采纳
This suggestion is offered for adoption by the university.我们已将这一建议提交给该大学，供其采用。
the widespread adoption of AI technology对于AI技术的广泛应用
近义词辨析：adoption和application都表示应用，但application更适用于一些专业表达，比如说把数学应用于计算机科学，把数学应用于经济学研究。而adoption在生活中会经常用到，比如说应用这个高科技，采用这个农业科技等。
adjunct 英 [ˈædʒʌŋkt] 美 [ˈædʒʌŋkt] n. （本文）辅助工具，附属物
benchmark 英 [ˈbentʃmɑːk] 美 [ˈbentʃmɑːrk] n. 基点，基准，标准
Her outstanding performances set a new benchmark for singers.她这种精彩的表演，为所有歌手都设定了一个新的基准。
akin to 类似于，和……相似
近义词辨析：akin to与similar to意思相近，但akin to更具文学、书面化特点。
