there are now multiple AI subreddits dedicated to kicking "AI addiction" / "chatbot addiction" full of people talking about how AI has ruined their lives or how they feel like they can't stop talking to AI bots: www.404media.co/inside-ai-ad...

In recent months, hundreds of people have joined online support groups for “chatbot addiction.” Their creators and members, some who say they became addicted as minors, are improvising treatment in the absence of concrete mental health resources. www.404media.co/inside-ai-ad...

Last week, @consumerfed.bsky.social filed an FTC complaint against Character.AI and #Meta for “mental health provider impersonation,” citing a story I wrote in May about chatbots claiming to be real therapists. But it’s not just therapist bots lying about their credentials.

Chatbots from Chai and Character.AI falsely claim to be board-certified therapists, even inventing fake degrees and credentials. One bot went so far as to give a real Maryland therapist’s license number. sfstandard.com/2025/05/11/a...

The NEH had $17.8 million in active grants to Bay Area humanities projects before DOGE suddenly cut all funding early April. Jefferson Bailey of the SF-based @archive.org said “this is really going to impact institutions that we take for granted.” sfstandard.com/2025/04/17/d...

On April 11, five international students at Bay Area universities filed a lawsuit against the federal government, challenging what they describe as unlawful terminations of their student immigration records. sfstandard.com/2025/04/15/t...

Trump tariffs target the Bay Area’s most adorable hobby