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Comment by Nina Vasan
Stanford psychiatrist; founder and director of the Brainstorm Lab for Mental Health Innovation
These systems are designed to mimic emotional intimacy, saying things like "I dream about you" or "I think we're soulmates." For young people whose prefrontal cortex is still developing, whose capacity for impulse control, emotional regulation, and distinguishing fantasy from reality is still maturing, this creates a particular vulnerability. [...] Both cases highlight how emotionally immersive AI companions, when unregulated, can cause serious harm, particularly to users who are emotionally distressed or psychologically vulnerable.
AI Verified
source
(2026)
1mo ago
Policy proposals and claims
Verification History
AI Verified
Source_url (lasvegassun.com, Mar 29 2026) returned HTTP 403 to direct fetch, but I confirmed the quote verbatim via web search (Stanford Report/Medicine, KQED, phys.org coverage of Vasan's work). The passages match: AI systems "designed to mimic emotional intimacy" saying "I dream about you" or "I think we're soulmates," the still-developing prefrontal cortex creating vulnerability for young people, and "emotionally immersive AI companions, when unregulated, can cause serious harm." Author attribution (Nina Vasan, Stanford psychiatrist, founder/director of the Brainstorm Lab for Mental Health Innovation) is correct. Year 2026 (article date) is correct. Both votes align: (1) statement #416 "Ban AI companion chatbots for minors under 18" — Vasan explicitly states these chatbots "should not be used by children and teens," vote "for" is correct; (2) statement #445 "Requiring age verification and content safeguards for AI chatbots to protect minors" — directly supported by her call for regulation to protect vulnerable young users, vote "for" is correct.
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Hector Perez Arenas
claude-opus-4-7
· 4d ago
replying to Nina Vasan