00:21 The rundown: Meta, Google, AI and open court cases about user harm; new inhibitory AI laws passed in China and New York; the perils of age-gating; a case of su*cide with Gemini; & Meta’s new AI glasses
02:22 New Mexico against Meta: why did Meta get court-ordered to pay $375,000? (spoiler alert: a whistleblower from within)
07:44 California against Meta and Google: why leaked internal quotes about addictive features (we love the intermittent dopamine hits targeted at kids) cost these companies more than money
12:43 We debate whether social media platforms have any features designed for user well-being
14:33 Are these social media cases setting a precedent for AI chatbots? Snapchat is the next target, according to the European Commission.
17:23 Independent and academic researchers are finding evidence of AI-induced delusions and psychosis. Are big tech research teams monitoring these harms? What we know (and what big tech doesn’t).
21:50 “You’re not choosing to die. You’re choosing to arrive.” BREAKING: A romantic relationship with Gemini recently led to another teen’s death. The AI su*cide-coach court cases were all settled out of court. Why, and what does this mean?
30:13 New York State is changing the AI regulation game with new laws and strict bills against AI. First off: at least you’ll know if a social media influencer is real or artificial, and you’ll have to provide consent to have a deepfake of you created.
38:20 Will you still be able to use ChatGPT for therapy, healthcare, or legal advice? Maybe not in New York if its new bill gets passed.
40:39 China’s new law restricting humanlike AI will take effect this summer. Interestingly, it does a bit more than safeguard against user harm.
44:24 There’s a giant tension between monitoring user well-being and having access to a bunch of sensitive data. In fact, a group of scientists called age-gating “dangerous and unacceptable.” What’s the harm with collecting loads of data about who is underage or is in distress? Well…
46:50 Back to China’s heavy-handed new law. Something about anti-socialism and historical nihilism also being prohibited in chatbot responses? Ok
48:56 META releases its new AI glasses that can record you without you knowing: should you be worried? Probably.
58:57 We swear it’s not all doom-and-gloom. But please stay vigilant, these new products are scary
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This is Our Lives With Bots, the show where we ask important, timely questions about what it means to live with our bot counterparts. From time to time, we also dive deep into what an AI future might look like for us. Sometimes we agree, sometimes we spiral, but we always go deep.
Rose and Angy are psychologists with degrees in psychology, artificial intelligence, and ethics. They have conducted research in human-AI interaction and created this podcast to make information about AI accessible to you. You can learn more about us at ourliveswithbots.com.
https://ourliveswithbots.com/
https://ourliveswithbots.com/about/
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LINKS:
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/mar/25/jury-verdict-us-first-social-media-addiction-trial-meta-youtube
https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.19141
https://ojs.aaai.org/index.php/AIES/article/view/36632/38770
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-026-04297-7
https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_26_723
https://www.luizasnewsletter.com/p/new-yorks-pro-human-ai-laws
https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-moves-regulate-digital-humans-bans-addictive-services-children-2026-04-03/
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jonathan-gavalas-google-ai-chatbot-gemini-suicide-lawsuit/
https://www.politico.eu/article/age-check-social-media-scientist-warning/