Abstract
This presentation examines the implications of minors’ interactions with emotionally responsive digital environments, with particular attention to Generative AI-powered companions. These systems are designed to engage users in supportive, conversational, and seemingly empathetic ways, often positioning themselves as trusted confidants who can address not only practical concerns but also emotional and relational needs. For minors, whose cognitive and emotional development is still in progress, such interactions may foster forms of psychological dependence, intensifying vulnerability to emotional manipulation and distorting processes of identity formation and socialisation. The habitual reliance on AI companions risks blurring the boundaries between autonomous emotional experience and algorithmically mediated responses. By delegating intimate aspects of emotional life to systems grounded in statistical prediction rather than genuine understanding, minors may develop misplaced trust and emotional attachment toward entities incapable of providing authentic care, moral judgment, or responsibility. This dynamic raises concerns about reduced resilience, diminished interpersonal skills, and the substitution of human relationships with artificial ones, particularly in contexts of loneliness or social fragility, which may lead to severe self-harm, including suicide. From a legal perspective, the apparent empathy and personalisation offered by AI companions may generate forms of reliance with legally relevant consequences, especially when minors are involved. The proposal explores emerging challenges related to informed consent, data protection, product liability, and the duty of care owed by developers and providers of emotionally interactive technologies. Adopting a comparative and multidisciplinary approach, the abstract aims to identify potential solutions, including age-appropriate design standards, transparency and explainability requirements, limits on emotional engagement features, parental oversight mechanisms, and targeted digital literacy education. These measures are intended to mitigate risks of psychological dependence while preserving the potential benefits of digital innovation in a manner consistent with the protection of minors’ fundamental rights and well-being.