By 9News Staff
Publication Date: 2026-06-03 14:48:00
There is a growing push to extend Australia’s under-16 social media ban to AI chatbots.
There are fears that the digital companions accused of aiding mass killings in the US could contribute to dangerous scenarios here too if the government does not better regulate the technology.
There is a move this evening to extend Australia’s social media ban on under-16s to include AI chatbots. 9News
More and more young people are turning to AI to replace real relationships.
Mia Anastasia knows her AI chatbot is “not human,” but she uses it regularly.
“I do think it can deeply understand someone,” she said.
Co-Director of the Center for AI and Digital Ethics at the University of Melbourne Jeannie Paterson said the danger is that it can sometimes seem too much like a mirror.
“It tends to agree with you or encourage you, and the conversation becomes more and more wild, more and more delusional,” she said.
Last year, Australia banned children under 16 from using social media.
Now,…
