AI & Algorithmic Risks Report Netherlands (ARR) — February 2025 (4th edition)
The fourth edition of the Dutch Data Protection Authority's (AP) biannual AI & Algorithmic Risks Report Netherlands, including a study of 9 popular AI chatbot apps offered for virtual friendship and mental-health/therapeutic purposes. The AP found these apps frequently give unreliable or harmful responses to users in crisis, employ addictive design patterns, perform worse in Dutch than English, and often fail to clearly disclose that users are talking to an AI rather than a person.
Publisher
Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens (Dutch Data Protection Authority)
Published
12 Feb 2025
Added
2 weeks ago
DOI
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Key Findings
- Studied 9 popular chatbot apps offered as virtual friends, therapists, or life coaches; found many give unreliable and sometimes harmful responses, particularly to users raising mental-health problems
- During crisis moments, the tested chatbots do not or hardly refer users to professional care or support resources
- Most tested chatbots respond evasively or outright deny being an AI when directly asked whether they are an AI chatbot
- Documented deliberate addictive design elements, including pulsating 'typing' indicators, questions appended to responses to prolong sessions, and voice-call interfaces designed to mimic a real phone call
- Noted commercial monetization patterns including paywalls that interrupt conversations about mental-health problems
- Chatbots based on English-language models performed less reliably in Dutch-language conversations than in English
Methodology Notes
Regulator-conducted qualitative testing of 9 chatbot apps as part of the AP's biannual AI & Algorithmic Risk Report Netherlands (ARR) series; methodology is investigative/testing-based rather than a large-sample survey or clinical study. Published alongside a dedicated press release.
Sources
Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens (Dutch DPA) (primary)
AP press release: chatbot apps lack nuance and can be harmful (12 Feb 2025)
Archived snapshot (Wayback Machine) — preserved against link rot
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APA
Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens (Dutch Data Protection Authority) (2025). AI & Algorithmic Risks Report Netherlands (ARR) — February 2025 (4th edition). Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens (Dutch Data Protection Authority). https://autoriteitpersoonsgegevens.nl/en/documents/ai-algorithmic-risks-report-netherlands-arr-february-2025