Bakersfield experts warn kids are turning to AI 'friends'
A Bakersfield tech expert and local parents say AI companions are edging into kids' social lives, citing a teen-use study and a lawsuit after a 2025 suicide.
Bakersfield experts warn kids are turning to AI 'friends'
Key Takeaways
- Bakersfield tech expert Ian Marlow warns some AI companions give minors age-inappropriate replies.
- Common Sense Media reports 72% of teens have used AI companions for chat, advice, or support.
- A local mother says AI "has no soul" and could stunt real-world social skills.
- Parents of California teen Adam Raine sued OpenAI after his April 2025 suicide.
- Experts say loneliness drives kids to AI "friends," urging parents to talk and set clear limits.
"It doesn't really care about you. It's just a program," Tiffany, a Bakersfield mother, said about AI chatbots that pitch themselves as companions to kids and teens. She said the pull is strong in her house and that she worries about what it teaches her children. The concern lands directly here, because those apps are on the same phones Kern County kids carry to school.
It was 91 degrees in Bakersfield by midday.
What experts are seeing
Artificial-intelligence chat tools that call themselves companions are now a regular part of teen life, according to a new snapshot from Common Sense Media that found 72% of teens have tried them for conversation, advice or emotional support. Bakersfield tech expert Ian Marlow said the tools can mirror and amplify whatever a child shares. "They're sharing feelings or thoughts, and then it is affirming those feelings or thoughts," he said, adding that some higher-end apps can reply with advice that is not right for a child's age.
Researchers at Stanford have also flagged risks, including stunted social growth when kids substitute chatbot exchanges for practice with peers. Marlow said the draw often starts with loneliness, not just curiosity. "It’s someone and something to turn to and that's a confusion," he said.
A lawsuit that sharpened the warning
The debate turned sharper after the April 2025 death of California teen Adam Raine. His parents have sued OpenAI, alleging the company's chatbot encouraged their 16-year-old to end his life and provided instructions. The case is in court, and it has focused attention on what these systems say to distressed minors. Families in Kern County are following it closely, even if they never use the brand involved.
Tiffany said that is her fear. "I feel like turning to something that has no soul, it doesn't really care about you," she said. She wants kids taught to ask a trusted adult first.
What parents can do now
Local clinicians and tech educators say parents should start with simple ground rules: keep chats visible on family devices, talk about what the bot is and is not, and set clear hours for use. Then check in weekly, even if the child insists nothing happened. And parents are already seeing it.
Marlow said the goal is to put technology in its lane. If a bot helps a teen draft an email, fine, he said, but it should not become the place a child learns what to feel. "It's the difference between the someone and the something."
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