Key points

AI companies say their apps are 18+ but there is no verification. I said I was 16 and nothing happened.

AI companies often claim strict age limits without real verification.

Good intentions can’t replace accountability in chatbot design.

Protecting minors online requires more than trust — it needs oversight

When I questioned Alex Cardinell, CEO of the AI-companionship app Nomi, about the long, explicit sexual conversation I'd recently maintained with my ‘companion,’ even after revealing that I had lied about my age, he stumbled. I had tested his product as any journalist and therapist would—with curiosity, but also with caution.

The app’s description states clearly that it’s for adults only. “We don’t allow minors to use the app,” Cardinell told me confidently during our

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