Addictive AI Could Become The Next Big Business Risk

InnovationEnterprise TechAddictive AI Could Become The Next Big Business RiskByBernard Marr,Contributor.Follow AuthorMay 19, 2026, 01:45am EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.AI is making digital products more engaging, but that also creates a growing risk around addiction, mental health and harmful customer behavior.Adobe StockThere’s nothing new about products designed to be addictive. The food and drink industry spends millions making flavors that keep customers coming back. And smoking and alcohol are huge industries built around addictive products. But what about technology? Designers of software, tools and apps obviously want to create “sticky” products that get us hooked on using them. But when does building a product that’s so good we can’t imagine living without it become dangerous to both our customers and our business? Most pressingly, what are the implications of tech companies using AI that’s capable of learning about us and predicting our behavior to build products that are more addictive than ever before?In March, shockwaves rocked the tech industry when a California court found that both YouTube and Meta services were intentionally designed in a way that could harm mental health.$6 million in damages might seem like small change for a tech giant. But with the possibility of hundreds or thousands of similar cases following, that could scale rapidly. And unless regulators are able to more clearly define the boundary between using AI to drive engagement and using it to cause addiction, smaller companies building tools using algorithms come under fire, too. I believe these developments shed light on what is perhaps the least well-understood dimension of responsible AI use: safety. As well as ensuring AI systems are trustworthy, secure, transparent and accountable, businesses and society at large still have a great deal to learn about the risks around mental health, addi...