Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt has voiced serious concerns about the growing influence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered romantic companions on young people, particularly highlighting their potential to cause social disconnection and emotional harm. Speaking on The Prof G Show podcast, Schmidt warned that both parents and youth are unprepared to deal with what he called an “unexpected problem of existing technology.”
Schmidt explained that these AI companions are designed to be “perfect,” which makes them highly appealing but potentially dangerous. “That kind of obsession is possible,” he said, especially for younger individuals who are still developing emotionally and socially.
Schmidt suggested that young men are particularly vulnerable, as they increasingly turn to the online world for comfort, entertainment, and validation.
“You put a 12- or 13-year-old in front of these things, and they have access to every evil as well as every good in the world and they’re not ready to …