There is a growing tendency among researchers, clinicians, journalists, and policymakers to describe certain patterns of AI use in pathological terms: AI addiction, AI psychosis, emotional dependence on chatbots.

I want to be clear at the outset. I am deeply sympathetic to children, adolescents, and adults who are genuinely vulnerable to destructive AI use cycles. Some people are being harmed. Some people do need clinical support. And emerging research suggests that in certain cases, conversational AI systems may amplify existing psychological distress in ways that deserve serious attention.

At the same time, I am increasingly worried that premature pathologization, especially when it migrates quickly from clinical discussion into public discourse, will push schools, particularly K–12 systems, into reactive and rigid policy responses that do more harm than good.