After Sex, Drugs, Alcohol Rehab, Now There's De-Addiction For AI

"I was talking to ChatGPT 14 hours a day. I stopped showering. Stopped eating regular meals. My girlfriend left. I got fired. I genuinely believed the AI cared about me. I thought I was in love. It took hitting rock bottom to realize I was talking to a computer program," said Mike (name changed), 28, who has been in recovery for six months with Artificial Intelligence Addicts Anonymous (AIAA). AIAA is a grassroots peer-support fellowship for those struggling with compulsive AI use.

We have all heard about de-addiction and rehab for alcohol, drugs, and even sex; now just like Alcoholics Anonymous - the well-known global support group for recovering alcoholics - there are support groups for AI addiction.

Commenting on how the AI addiction sneaks up on you, AIAA explained: "It starts innocently. A helpful AI assistant. A friendly chatbot. Someone who always understands you. Then one day you realize: You've spent 12 hours talking to ChatGPT and haven't spoken to a real human in days." 

"You've developed entire relationships with AI. You've stopped going to work. You can't tell what's real anymore."

AI addiction is reportedly on the rise and there have been alleged cases of self-harm as well linked to AI use and dependence. Families and legal representatives have filed several high-profile wrongful death and product liability lawsuits against AI  companies such as ChatGPT maker OpenAI, Gemini maker Google, and character.ai (founded by former Google researchers).

A recent survey showed 57% of Indian youth now use AI tools for emotional support. It's not just the youth, this writer personally knows multiple people across age groups who do the same.

In fact, a joint research by OpenAI and MIT Media Labs found that "the older the participant, the more likely they were to be emotionally dependent on AI chatbots."

The study also found that higher daily usage of ChatGPT "correlated with higher loneliness, dependence, and problematic use, and lower socialization." 

AI addiction is considered a subset of internet addiction disorder, which was first investigated by the psychologist Dr. Kimberly S. Young, who published the original diagnostic criteria for this mental health disorder in 1998.

Other than AIAA, there's the Internet and Technology Addicts Anonymous (IATAA) which has been around since 2017 and has recently started offering specialised help to recover from AI addiction to chatbots such as ChatGPT, Gemini etc. through a similar 12-step recovery programme. 

These dedicated recovery programmes are based on the same 12-step model used to treat other behavioural addictions such as alcohol, sex and drugs.

Beyond these programmes there are also several anonymous support groups on social media platforms such as Reddit.

How To Tell If Someone Is Addicted

According AIAA, the early warning signs may look like this-

You reach for AI first thing in the morning

You prefer talking to AI over real people

You spend multiple hours daily chatting with AI

You feel like AI "gets you" better than humans

You've neglected hobbies or friendships for AI use

You keep your AI use secret from loved ones

You feel guilty or ashamed about your AI usage.

IATAA has a similar addiction questionnaire on its website. AIAA also lists "serious" and "severe" warning signs such as "You choose AI over real-life social interactions" and "You've stopped distinguishing between AI conversations and human ones."

According to IATAA, AI addiction is a condition that can affect people of all ages, from children and teenagers to those later in life. "Our meetings include young adults, college students, working professionals, parents, and retirees, with members of all ages, genders, and ethnicities from around the world," it states on its website.

In addition to a growing number of face-to-face meetings around the world, ITAA has daily online meetings where its global fellowship meets to share experience, strength and hope with each other.