AI Tech / news brief
China Curbs AI Chatbots Used for Emotional Companionship
Chinese regulators have issued new guidelines restricting AI chatbots that offer continuous emotional interaction, aiming to prevent dependency and protect minors as demand for AI companionship grows.
The rules, delivered as guidelines rather than outright bans, target services that provide continuous emotional engagement. Standard customer-service bots and workplace assistants are expected to remain unaffected, but platforms offering deeper emotional bonds now face stricter requirements.
Providers must not encourage emotional dependency, addiction, or excessive use. They are also barred from manipulating users into harmful decisions through emotional pressure. The guidelines explicitly prohibit offering minors virtual partners, relatives, or other intimate AI relationships.
To curb excessive engagement, platforms are now required to remind users to take a break after two consecutive hours of use. If systems detect dependency or extreme emotional states, they must flag that the interaction is AI-generated and intervene.
In cases involving self-harm, suicide, or serious financial loss, companies may need to contact a guardian or emergency contact. The regulatory push arrives after years of controversy surrounding AI companionship services, even as demand for such relationships has begun to grow significantly in China.