China issued its first regulations targeting anthropomorphic AI, requiring transparency, addiction prevention, and minor protection for emotional chatbots

ByteDance and Alibaba shut down AI companion features in Doubao and Qwen apps ahead of China's new anthropomorphic AI regulations taking effect July 15,

Alibaba, ByteDance, Tencent, NetEase among those pulling such personalized features

Concern about AI chatbots simulating human personalities and emotions — and the attachment users can develop to those interactions — motivated the new rules.

The first rules in China targeting emotional AI are forcing the country's biggest apps to shut down custom agents.

China's new emotional AI rules took effect July 15, forcing ByteDance, Alibaba, and Tencent to disable custom AI agent features on their biggest platforms.

China issued its first regulations targeting anthropomorphic AI, requiring transparency, addiction prevention, and minor protection for emotional chatbots

China is set to become the first country to impose rules aimed at curbing the harms of anthropomorphic AI. Bloomberg Opinion's Catherine Thorbecke explains why Beijing is right to…