Photo by Igor Omilaev  on Unsplash Introduction  People are increasingly turning to AI chatbots  in their most vulnerable moments— seeking comfort  after a nightmare, sharing suicidal thoughts—leaning on them as emotional confidants within AI’s emotional architecture. While AI chatbots may simulate empathy and offer low-stakes emotional support , there have been reported incidents  and lawsuits  alleging that chatbots like OpenAI’s GPT4-o have escalated self-harm, even coaching users...