AI Addiction Podcast Launch: Three Episodes on Warning Signs, Character.AI and ChatGPT

Listen: the AI Addiction Podcast on Spotify.

News provided by
The AI Addiction Center
Sep 10, 2025

The AI Addiction Center launches a podcast about AI dependence

A three-episode launch covers warning signs, Character.AI attachment and ChatGPT dependency.

HAUPPAUGE, NY: The AI Addiction Center has launched the AI Addiction Podcast, a show about people whose use of ChatGPT, Character.AI and other AI platforms has become hard to control.

The headline on this page, and the web address, still refer to a 400% rise in recovery communities in 2024. We could not trace that figure to a source and no longer stand behind it. Peer support groups for people cutting back on chatbots do exist. 404 Media reported in June 2025 that r/Character_AI_Recovery had more than 800 members. That is a count at one date, not a growth rate.

We also corrected two lines from the original release. It said MIT researchers called AI companion addiction “the final stage of digital addiction.” We could not find that statement in an MIT study. And it said this is the first podcast on the subject. We have not checked that, so we say only that it is a podcast about AI dependence.

People tell us things like “I panic when ChatGPT is down” and “I think I’m in love with my AI character.” These are common enough to be worth talking about. We don’t claim they show a diagnosable condition. AI chatbot addiction is not a formal diagnosis, and the DSM-5-TR lists only internet gaming disorder, as a condition for further study.

The launch episodes:

Episode 1, “The 12 Warning Signs” covers signs that AI use may be becoming a problem, such as pulling away from people and losing sleep. See our written guide to the critical signs of AI addiction.

Episode 2, “Character.AI Addiction” looks at emotional and romantic attachment to AI companions.

Episode 3, “ChatGPT Dependency” looks at relying on ChatGPT for work and thinking. It uses a five-stage framework of our own. It is a way to talk about the habit, not a clinical model.

The show covers both gradual cutting back and stopping, and says that recovery does not have to mean never using AI again. A four-week MIT Media Lab and OpenAI study of nearly 1,000 adults linked long daily use with more loneliness and dependence. It found correlation, not cause, and it is not peer reviewed. That is the kind of evidence the show draws on, so we keep the limits in view.

Our free assessment is a self-reflection tool, not a diagnosis. For adults 18 and over. The check-in is free and private to you.

If you are struggling, you can talk to a doctor or a licensed counselor. Our guide to finding counseling explains where to search. In crisis, call or text 988, or text HOME to 741741 (Crisis Text Line).

About the AI Addiction Podcast

The AI Addiction Podcast is produced by The AI Addiction Center, an anonymous information site. It is not a medical service and does not give treatment.

Contact Information:
The AI Addiction Center
175 Commerce Dr, Hauppauge, NY 11788
+1 (914) 893-2821
help@aiaddictionquiz.com

Podcast Access:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4kByqKpf0UptAlZ835BJg6
Other platforms: search for “AI Addiction Podcast” in your podcast app.