No matter how perceptive, cautious, or street-smart you may be, you could end up being a victim of emotional manipulation. That's because manipulators won't typically say, "I am going to manipulate ...
A team of researchers from the Harvard Business School has found that a broad selection of popular AI companion apps use emotional manipulation tactics to stop users from leaving. As spotted by ...
De Freitas, Julian, Zeliha Oğuz Uğuralp, and Ahmet Kaan Uğuralp. "Emotional Manipulation by AI Companions." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 26-005, August 2025. (Revised October 2025.) ...