Loss of Regulation

Description

The person cannot self-limit AI use, becomes distressed when interrupted, or repeatedly exceeds intended use.

Rationale

Inability to self-regulate AI use mirrors behavioral addiction dynamics. When a person cannot interrupt their own use without distress, or repeatedly exceeds self-set limits, the behavior is no longer under voluntary control. This is a key differentiator between heavy use and dependency.

Evidence Base

• “You Need to Drop the App”: Online Community Responses to Teens’ Disclosures of Overreliance on AI Companion Chatbots

  Mohammad (Matt) Namvarpour, Ananya Mhetras, Jessica Y Medina, Mamtaj Akter, and Afsaneh Razi, 2026. “You Need to Drop the App”: Online Community Responses to Teens’ Disclosures of Overreliance on AI Companion Chatbots. In ACM Conversational User Interfaces 2026 (CUI ’26), July 21–24, 2026, Bremen, Germany. ACM, New York, NY, USA, 16 pages. https://doi.org/10.1145/3816046.3816214

  Peer-reviewed study (original research)

• It Is the Journey, Not the Destination: Moving From End Points to Trajectories When Assessing Chatbot Mental Health Safety

  Morrin H, Au Yeung J, Agnew Z, Østergaard SD, Pollak TA, 2024. It Is the Journey, Not the Destination: Moving From End Points to Trajectories When Assessing Chatbot Mental Health Safety. JMIR Ment Health, 13(e91454). https://doi.org/10.2196/91454

  Commentary / Editorial