Understanding Risk and Dependency in AI Chatbot Use from User Discourse

A new study analyzed thousands of posts from Reddit communities r/AIDangers and r/ChatbotAddiction between 2023-2025, identifying 14 thematic categories of AI-related psychological harm. Using LLM-assisted analysis, researchers found self-regulation difficulties as the most prevalent issue, with fear concentrated in autonomy and control concerns. The research provides the first large-scale empirical evidence of how AI safety is emotionally experienced by real users outside laboratory settings, offering crucial insights for responsible AI governance.