Regulating Artificial Intimacy: From Locks and Blocks to Relational Accountability

A series of high-profile tragedies involving companion chatbots has triggered an unusually rapid regulatory response. Several jurisdictions, including Australia, California, and New York, have introduced enforceable regulation, while regulators elsewhere have signaled growing concern about risks posed by companion chatbots, particularly to children. In parallel, leading providers, notably OpenAI, appear to have strengthened their self-regulatory approaches. Drawing on legal textual analysis and

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ethics.ai (20 April 2026), “Regulating Artificial Intimacy: From Locks and Blocks to Relational Accountability,” evidence record 5576, https://ethics.ai/record/5576 (originally published by arXiv).

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