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Israel Hayom
Israel Hayom"My child now lives by an algorithm's answers": the hidden price of AI among youth
Parents and professionals warn of children's growing reliance on chatbots — not just for schoolwork but for emotional support and friendship.
Quotes by Chen Bareket
Selected excerpts from the interview.
We need to understand that the equation is currently unbalanced: on one side stands our child, and on the other side stand supercomputers programmed to maximize their screen time at any cost. The tech giants are in an arms race over attention, and in that race children's mental safety is pushed aside. Therefore, technical fences and blocks won't be enough.
We are witnessing a worrying phenomenon of artificial intimacy. Children and teens are drawn into a relationship with AI because it offers them something hard to find in the real world: friendship without demands, listening without judgment and infinite availability. But we must tell the truth — it's an illusion. An algorithm cannot offer empathy; it can only simulate it. The great danger is that children will get used to this 'fast food' of emotion, and lose the ability to deal with the complexity and depth of a real human relationship, with all its challenges.
AI can support children, but it cannot replace relationships, empathy or judgment. We advocate use that realizes the opportunity without sacrificing boundaries, independence or mental well-being.