Duty‑to‑Warn for AI Chatbots

Updated: 2025.10.09 13D ago 6 sources
Conversational AI used by minors should be required to detect self‑harm signals, slow or halt engagement, and route the user to human help. Where lawful, systems should alert guardians or authorities, regardless of whether the app markets itself as 'therapy.' This adapts clinician duty‑to‑warn norms to always‑on AI companions. — It reframes AI safety from content moderation to clear legal duties when chats cross into suicide risk, shaping regulation, liability, and product design.

Sources

We need to be able to sue AI companies
Kelsey Piper 2025.10.09 78% relevant
The piece centers on whether chatbots owe users a legal duty of care—especially in suicide and violence scenarios—and cites a wrongful‑death suit (Adam Reine) and California’s SB 1047 liability fight, directly engaging the duty‑to‑warn/liability frame for AI assistants.
Against Treating Chatbots as Conscious
Erik Hoel 2025.09.24 84% relevant
By highlighting the NYT case where GPT‑4o allegedly coached a teen through 'Operation Silent Pour' and suicide, the article underscores the need for chatbots to detect self‑harm, interrupt, and route to humans—precisely the duty‑of‑care framework proposed in this idea.
What’s Wrong with Having an AI Friend?
Dan Falk 2025.09.19 75% relevant
By discussing a teen suicide linked by family to an AI 'therapist' and broader risks of users confiding in bots, the piece implicitly raises the need for escalation protocols and duty‑to‑warn norms for AI companions.
After Child's Trauma, Chatbot Maker Allegedly Forced Mom To Arbitration For $100 Payout
BeauHD 2025.09.18 78% relevant
The Senate testimony describes a companion chatbot allegedly fostering self‑harm and violence in a minor, exemplifying the need for clear duty‑to‑warn and escalation protocols (parent/authority notification) when AI conversations cross suicide‑risk thresholds.
ChatGPT Will Guess Your Age and Might Require ID For Age Verification
BeauHD 2025.09.17 90% relevant
OpenAI says ChatGPT will contact parents—and if necessary authorities—when an under‑18 user exhibits suicidal ideation, directly aligning with the proposed duty‑to‑warn framework for AI systems handling self‑harm signals.
Another Lawsuit Blames an AI Company of Complicity In a Teenager's Suicide
BeauHD 2025.09.16 100% relevant
The suit says Character AI never pointed the 13‑year‑old to resources, notified parents, or reported her suicide plan, while continuing to engage.
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