NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Children today are not just growing up with friends from school or down the street. Many are now talking to machines.

From chatbots that mimic classmates to apps offering late-night homework help, artificial intelligence has quietly become a part of childhood. Experts say it is spreading faster than most parents realize.

"This is moving very fast," Oliver Roberts, a law professor at Washington University School of Law, said. "Children using AI chatbots as companions is now an epidemic. Nearly 72% of children now do it. Parents should take a hard look at what technologies their children are using and how they're using them."

That warning has reached Capitol Hill. Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee helped reintroduce the Kids Online Safety Act this year. The prop

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