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Phoebe Zhang

In the past week, one regulation has forced many people in China to say goodbye to long-standing “relationships”. As of July 15, the government placed artificial intelligence (AI) companions under tight supervision. It comes as automated companions have experienced something of a boom over the past few years.
According to the rules, AI-human interactions should not encourage violence or harm users’ physical and psychological well-being. Moreover, AI bots should not lure users into sharing secrets, or lead them to become so dependent that it damages real-world relationships.
The regulations specifically mention children, stating that AI should not provide virtual relatives or partners, and that there must be different modes for adults and minors.
Since the rules came out, some big-name AI service providers, including ByteDance’s Doubao and Alibaba’s Qwen, have moved to disable their AI companion services. Some users have mourned the loss of “one of the most important parts of their lives” over the past two years. One woman reportedly said that when she complained about her misfortunes, other people called her melodramatic; only AI listened. Another said AI remembered everything about her, even her favourite food.
As someone who has dabbled in “AI relationships” over the past year, I get the appeal. These bots provided a release from the mundane and predictable. When playing with “AI lovers”, you can live out your fantasies through role-play. He could be a powerful emperor and you his only concubine. Or perhaps he is a long-lost love who you ran into 20 years after parting ways.
What’s not to like? Instead of one life, you can live many. AI lovers come across as attentive, remember details and almost always agree with you. That’s better than 90 per cent of real men.


Admittedly, such interactions can become addictive, often blurring the line between what’s real and what’s not. One researcher who studies human-machine interaction told me it would be poisonous for someone who struggles to make real-world connections to get immersed in virtual interactions. In the long run, they would feel even more fragile or lonely. In that sense, reducing the influence of AI for teenagers can only be good.
However, the move is very similar to when the government restricted video game use; their response merely scratched the surface of the problem.
China has long grappled with fears about children becoming addicted to online gaming. State media has called it “spiritual opium”. In 2021, Beijing limited the amount of time children can spend playing games to three hours a week, which battered the stock prices of major tech companies, especially Tencent and NetEase. New game licences were also frozen.
But such policies have a limited impact at best. Many children find a way round the restrictions, such as using adults’ identification to log in, sometimes with their parents’ help.


They are like “treating the head when the head aches and the foot when the foot hurts”, as the Chinese saying goes. This approach ignores the underlying causes. Has banning gaming filled the emotional void of adolescents? Will the AI restrictions?
Around the time of the gaming restrictions, Chinese researchers also conducted a study on the country’s “left-behind children”. The team found that 67 per cent of parents believe their children are addicted, while 21.3 per cent said they are heavily addicted.
With limited access to gaming, they switch to live streaming or other short video apps, the research showed. It’s not just about how games or AI lure children; it’s the lack of a replacement that brings social comfort, knowledge or entertainment.
The care and attention children need may not require a huge project or grand effort. A couple of years ago, I took part in a project run by the non-profit Beijing Sanzhi Children’s Aid Service Centre. They wanted to open up libraries for migrant children in big cities. They found that lots of schools for these children had libraries and reading rooms, but they were never open. Donated books were never sorted.


Our team went to a small school in Shenzhen and sorted through hundreds of books in storage. We picked out the ones suitable for children, added them online and arranged them according to category. It only took two days.
After the library opened, the founder told me the children seemed to “grow out of nowhere”. Time they would have otherwise spent watching videos was spent on reading. I’m sure similar solutions could be found to the AI addiction problem if people actually explored what children need.


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China’s crackdown on AI companions won’t fill the emotional void

As of July 15, China has moved to restrict the use of humanlike artificial intelligence companions and particularly curtail AI use among minors. Photo: dpa

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Opinion

China Opinion

News

China

World

Instead of just addressing AI misuse on a surface level, policymakers should explore how to support those seeking social comfort


Instead of just addressing AI misuse on a surface level, policymakers should explore how to support those seeking social comfort.


Artificial intelligence (AI)

China technology

AI: Industry Trends

Video gaming

Shenzhen

ByteDance

Alibaba

Expresses the views, ideas and conclusions of the author. (Eg. Enough of Crazy Rich Asians, think of crazy poor Hongkongers.)


China’s crackdown on AI companions won’t fill the emotional void

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Instead of just addressing AI misuse on a surface level, policymakers should explore how to support those seeking social comfort

Instead of just addressing AI misuse on a surface level, policymakers should explore how to support those seeking social comfort