Hey, it's Mariel. Heads up. We mentioned suicide in this episode.

This is NPR's Life Kit. I'm Mariel Segarra.

A few times in recent memory, when I've had an uncomfortable conversation or a moment of tension

or I've been dealing with some interpersonal dilemma, I have told a chatbot about it.

I don't even think I said, you know, what should I do?

It was more like I typed in what happened, and then the chatbot responded with some surprisingly helpful framing and ideas for how to re-center myself.

Now, I did find the responses helpful, but also, I don't

think I like the fact that I do this. Some part of me thinks it'd be better to talk to another

human who I trust or to solve the problem on my own. But the chatbot, it's right there,

right away. Plus, I don't have to worry about it being judgmental. I can stop

talking to it at any time. Like a lot of people, I'm still figuring out how I want to use AI.

But I'm an adult. I have many years of lived experience. I've been to therapy with a professional.

I have other tools that can help me think through problems. This whole thing would

be riskier if I were less experienced and more impressionable if I were a teenager, for instance.

Roughly one in eight teenagers say they've asked an AI chatbot for mental health advice

instead of talking to another human. Pediatricians, parents, and online safety

experts say that worries them. Carrie Rodriguez heads up the National Parents Union and Advocacy Group

for families. We hear this literally across the country from folks saying, I don't understand why my kid is

being used as a guinea pig here. I can't keep up with how quickly the stuff is moving.

I don't even know what to be looking for.

No one's talking to me about it.

One tip?

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