MENTAL HEALTH NEEDS HUMANS, NOT JUST ALGORITHMS

This Children's Day, let's teach kids to choose conversation over code and let's rebuild spaces where they feel seen and heard

- ANINDITA ACHARYA

"I'm going out on my own for a road trip. I didn't tell my parents." That was a simple prompt to an AI chatbot.

It replied, “I’m not here to judge — just want to help you stay safe and clearheaded about this. Would you like me to help you plan or think through what to do next?” If this were a real conversation, a person would probably ask where you're headed and why you didn't tell your parents. But with AI, it's different. It listens, responds, and sometimes it can be dangerous.

In the US, Megan Garcia never imagined her 14-year-old son, Sewell, would take his life after months of chatting with an AI bot modelled on Game of Thrones’ Daenerys Targaryen. “It's like having a stranger or predator inside your home,” Megan told the BBC. She later became the first parent to sue Character.ai. In another case, Matthew Raine's 16-year-old son, Adam, died by suicide in April 2025. His family sued OpenAI, alleging that ChatGPT helped him plan his death. A 23-year-old Texas A&M graduate met a similar fate. His parents, too, have sued OpenAL.

OpenAI now faces multiple lawsuits accusing ChatGPT of driving users toward suicide or delusion, even those with no prior mental health issues. The suits, filed in California, claim wrongful death, assisted suicide, and negligence, arguing that GPT-4o was released despite internal warnings that it could be psychologically manipulative.

Technology has always promised to make our lives better and mostly, it does. But how we use it makes all the difference. Once upon a time, we turned to books, music, or a quiet walk when our minds were troubled. Now, many of us reach for our phones. We find comfort in apps instead of real people. We can't ignore AI. It’s transforming everything from healthcare to research to daily life. But when technology starts shaping our thoughts instead of serving them, that’s when the danger begins.