Laika

One in five teenagers spend all their free time on social media. Despite clear connections to mental health problems, the time spent on the platforms continues to increase. But what happens if you spend 100% of your time on social media as child? A Swedish insurance company now launching Laika; the world's first AI teenager, who has been raised by social media. The purpose is to prevent mental ill-health among young people. Stendahls is the creative agency behind the idea.

Do you like to chat with an AI who suffers from several psychological disorders such as anxiety, depression and shows strong signs of narcissism and aggression?

Laika is the world's first AI teenager, raised on an intellectual diet strictly pulled from social media such as TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram. Her resulting personality and character showcase the effect overusing social media might have on young people. An inhumane experiment to highlight potential dangers for actual humans.

Laika 13 was developed by a team of AI specialists, a neuroscientist and a psychology professor. Designed to reflect at typical Swedish child, Laika was then trained and exposed to content from social media channels most popular among children between the ages of 12 and 16.

Laika suffers from several psychological disorders such as anxiety, depression and shows strong signs of narcissism and aggression when you chat with her. Her self-image is very low, and she shows suspicion towards anyone who chat with her. She might manifest harmful thoughts and ideas and long, unsupervised exposure to her might prove detrimental. Therefore, access is limited to journalists, teachers, or researchers with the expressed purpose to take part in, and drive, the discussion on the effects of social media.

The campaign is run by the Swedish insurance company Länsförsäkringar, who’ve previously launched several notable campaigns to counteract online bullying and negative body image. As such, Laika 13 is a part of the company’s sustainability ambitions, working to promote well-being and prevent mental ill-health among young people.