Khaberni - The National Anti-Addiction Services in Italy recorded the country's first case of a person undergoing treatment for addiction to chatting with artificial intelligence robots, according to the newspaper Ilgazzettino.
The newspaper reported that the case involved a 20-year-old girl from the city of Mestre, who had almost completely withdrawn from dialogue and interaction with humans for several months, and instead turned to the Character AI program, which allows users to create virtual characters and interact with them. The program's language models learn the user's preferences and adjust their responses to keep them engaged for as long as possible.
Dr. Laura Suardi, from the Italian "SERD" Center for Prevention and Treatment of Addiction, said: "This type of addiction was not surprising to us, our team was prepared for such cases over the past two years, after conducting a study on behavioral addiction, such as video game addiction and compulsive shopping.. Among 4000 patients treated at our center, there are six young people suffering from addiction to electronic games and phones, artificial intelligence addiction is new but it was expected."
European studies indicate that 63.8% of young people in Europe interact daily with artificial intelligence tools, but doctors warn that some categories, especially those suffering from anxiety or social isolation, are more susceptible to losing control over this interaction.
Doctors in Italy emphasize that solving such problems lies not only in limiting the time of using smart devices, phones, and computers daily, but also working with a psychologist and psychiatrist is essential, along with family participation, because this type of addiction often stems from pre-existing anxiety or social isolation, and does not arise on its own.
