Register here: https://luma.com/waieplus-AIteenpanel
Recent cases have brought new attention to the ways teenagers can form emotional relationships with AI chatbots. In 2024, the mother of 14-year-old Sewell Setzer III filed a lawsuit against Character.AI following her son’s death, alleging that he had developed an intense emotional attachment to a chatbot on the platform. The case raised difficult questions about what happens when an AI companion begins to feel less like a tool and more like a real relationship.
Teen relationships with AI can take different forms. Some users treat chatbots as friends or confidants, while others use them for romantic companionship, emotional support, or conversations that feel similar to therapy. These relationships can offer comfort and a private space to talk, but they can also blur the line between support and dependence.
Governments and platforms are beginning to respond to concerns about young people’s online safety. Australia now requires certain social media platforms to prevent users under 16 from holding accounts. AI companion platforms are also changing their own rules. Character.AI announced in 2025 that users under 18 would no longer have access to open-ended chatbot conversations, and introduced age assurance and parental insight tools.
Session Focus
This panel will focus specifically on teens’ emotional attachment to AI chatbots and how these tools are changing the way young people experience friendship, romance, emotional support, and advice.
The discussion will look at where AI companionship can be helpful, where it can become harmful, and what companies, policymakers, parents, schools, and young people should consider as these tools become more common.
The discussion is intended for youth, parents, policymakers, educators, technology companies, and other stakeholders interested in making AI companionship safer for young people.
Join us on Tuesday, 22 September 2026 at 3:00 PM ET during UN High-Level Week 2026 in New York for this virtual session supporting the ‘Digit'all Future’ theme of the ITU–UNDP Digital@UNGA programme. This session brings together experts from the private, public, and civil society sectors for a timely discussion on aligning AI sovereignty with positive gender impact, specifically advancing SDG 5 for gender equality and SDG 8 for decent work and economic growth.