Your news feed is probably full of frenzied warnings about AI, speculating about its implications and the dystopia we seem to be heading for. But instead of looking forward, what if we look back?
Let’s rewind to the mid-2000s, when social media was gaining mass popularity and gradually becoming an everyday presence for students. Today, we face a similar technological revolution as AI quickly becomes ubiquitous.
AI innovation is moving much faster than we can regulate it. Companies that are releasing AI chatbots to the public are largely evading regulation of their products—and so are the politicians who fund Big Tech.
Sound familiar?
U.S. government officials and AI oligarchs are neglecting to regulate AI for the same reasons they neglected to regulate social media in the 2010s: profit and power. Motivated by a multi-trillion-dollar industry and the need to maintain America’s technological dominance, they have little incentive to slow down innovation or impose guardrails. While major tech CEOs have admitted a need for AI oversight and even signed a voluntary self-regulation accord last month, this does not equate to government regulation.
The U.S. does not currently have a comprehensive federal law on AI. When social media apps first came out, they also faced little regulation despite tech leaders being aware of their dangers. Despite an array of federal and state laws regulating aspects of social media, there is still no single, cohesive federal policy.
Combined with the unprecedentedly fast spread of AI, this lack of regulation poses serious dangers.
Over the past two decades, research has exposed the appalling mental health consequences of social media use. Society began to understand the repercussions of constant online comparison, tailored algorithms, misinformation, and widespread screen addiction. However, this knowledge has not stopped us from embracing social media. Social media addiction remains highly prevalent amongst teens and young adults. A meta analysis published in Scientific Reports found that the majority of college students spend more than three hours on social media daily.
The advent of AI has produced a similar trend. Students have been quick to adopt AI for everything from schoolwork to advice. For some, AI chatbots have become less like tools and more like confidants. A 2025 Stanford University study uncovered the dangers of AI therapists, which perpetuate stigma and enable dangerous behavior, including suicide.
Even those who use AI for seemingly innocuous tasks are vulnerable to many risks. Like social media, AI is addictive. And due to a lack of regulation, the technology has become so convenient and accessible that anyone is at risk of becoming dependent. As governments and tech companies pour billions into AI, they prize unbridled innovation over all else—including the well-being of millions of users.
Few users could admit that they genuinely enjoy doomscrolling, but a majority of the population is consumed by their algorithm anyways, driven by escapism, loneliness, convenience or addiction. Despite growing negative views towards AI, many use it for those same reasons. Regular AI usage only reinforces the idea that we cannot complete tasks on our own and must turn to a chatbot for help.
Both social media and AI also have alarming impacts on our cognition, critical thinking, and attention spans. While people use social media as a sort of “mind-numbing” escape from critical thinking, AI allows people to avoid having to think altogether.
Even more so than social media, AI poses a legitimate threat to academic performance because the majority of students use AI directly for schoolwork. An MIT study reveals that participants who used AI to write an essay showed lower brain activity while they wrote and were less likely to remember what they had written. Furthermore, writing essays and reading books teaches skills that are important beyond school: analyzing different perspectives, crafting persuasive arguments and questioning assumptions. In a world fraught with misinformation, strong political division and complex social issues, developing critical thinking skills are crucial.
While social media is addictive and pervasive, individuals can still choose whether they use these apps. AI, on the other hand, is being forced on us against our will. It is being pushed into our classrooms, our workplaces, and even our search results without our explicit permission—one can’t “opt out” of AI content if it’s being force-fed to them every time they open a phone or laptop.
If social media ushered in society’s shift from in-person to digital connection, AI only accelerates it. People are increasingly interacting with AI chatbots, callers, therapists, friends and even lovers. Conversations you might normally have with a family member, friend, or peers have now become prompts into ChatGPT that garner an immediate response. When we “connect” with people or bots online, we lose the joy and messiness of real in-person conversations.
Like social media, AI has the potential to do immense good. But AI’s benefits—while far-reaching—mainly exist in the future tense. On the other hand, the dangers of AI are not some distant warning; they are happening now, and they will only grow larger.
We failed to address the dangers of social media until it had already done its damage. But we might have better luck with AI if we can learn from our mistakes.