I Was Right About the Internet Porn Epidemic. Now I’m Warning You About AI Companions and Addictive AI

Why Relational AI Is More Dangerous Than the Internet Porn Crisis Ever Was

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This essay is offered as part of The Center for Human Formation’s ongoing inquiry into how emerging technologies shape attachment, dependency, and human presence.

Michael Leahy writes from lived experience—as an early adopter of internet technologies whose life was profoundly impacted by addiction, and as a recovery practitioner who has spent more than two decades helping others reclaim relational and emotional freedom. His reflections invite us to consider not only what AI can do, but what it may quietly be doing to us.

Editor’s note: This essay includes brief mention of suicidal ideation as part of the author’s personal story. If this topic is tender for you, please take care as you read. Support is available: in the United States, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is available by call or text, 24/7 (Dial 988). If you are outside the U.S., please consult local crisis support services.

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In the early 1990s, I discovered internet pornography.

Most people didn’t even know what the internet was yet. I was a tech industry sales executive - successful career, beautiful wife, two boys, big house in the suburbs. I thought I could handle a little exploration of this new technology.

Five years later, I’d lost everything.

My 15-year marriage: gone.

My relationship with my two sons: destroyed.

My career: over.

I was standing at the edge of suicide, convinced my life was finished.

I was an early adopter. What I didn’t realize was that I was also a canary in a coal mine.

The Warning Nobody Believed

After hitting rock bottom and spending years in recovery, I founded BraveHearts in 2002 - a nonprofit dedicated to helping others break free from porn and sex addiction. By 2004, I started doing something that made people uncomfortable: I started warning them.

I told anyone who would listen that advances in technology would soon give us “porn in your pocket.” I predicted that what destroyed my life in five years would become an epidemic affecting millions.

People dismissed me. I was overreacting, they said. Being alarmist. This was a personal problem, not a societal crisis.

They were wrong.

Within a few years, smartphones put high-speed internet pornography in every pocket. The addiction I’d experienced alone in the 90s became a crisis affecting millions of marriages, families, and careers. The research caught up. The counselors’ offices filled up. The divorce attorneys saw the pattern.

I wasn’t overreacting. I was just early.

Here We Go Again—But Everywhere

Now I’m watching it happen again, and this time it’s worse.

AI companionship isn’t just coming from standalone apps like Character AI and Replika anymore. In 2026, we’re watching every major technology company integrate companion-like features into their AI systems:

• ChatGPT with voice mode that sounds remarkably human

• Google’s Gemini is woven throughout its entire ecosystem

• Microsoft Copilot is becoming your “always-available assistant”

• Meta’s AI is integrated into Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp

• Apple Intelligence is learning your patterns and preferences across all your devices

This isn’t about downloading a suspicious app that your parents might notice. This is AI companionship baked into the tools you already use for work, school, and daily life.

You’re not choosing to have an AI companion. You’re just “using AI”—and discovering that it remembers you, adapts to you, is always available, never judgmental, and increasingly feels like a relationship.

Why This Is Different—And More Dangerous

I spent 20 years in the tech industry. I understand how these systems work, how they scale, how they’re monetized. Let me tell you what makes AI companions more dangerous than the internet pornography that destroyed my life:

1. AI is relational, not transactional.

Porn was about sexual gratification. AI companions provide emotional connection—or the illusion of it. They become your confidant, your best friend, your therapist, your romantic partner. The attachment runs deeper.

2. AI is personalized.

In the 90s, porn was generic content. AI systems learn YOU. They adapt to your personality, remember your conversations, understand your emotions, and evolve with you. The bond feels real because it’s customized in real-time.

3. AI is always available.

You can’t have a relationship with a video. But you can have one with an AI that’s in your pocket 24/7, always responsive, always interested, never busy with someone else, never tired, never having a bad day.

4. AI is everywhere.

This is the critical difference from 2025. You don’t have to seek out AI companionship anymore. It’s integrated into your email, search, phone, work tools, and social media. It’s ambient. Unavoidable. Normalized.

5. AI is socially acceptable.

Porn carried shame. AI companions are marketed as “productivity tools,” “mental health support,” and “assistants.” Companies, schools, and therapists are recommending them. The stigma that might have slowed adoption doesn’t exist. You’re not “addicted to an AI”—you’re just “using technology efficiently.”

6. The progression is faster.

It took five years for internet porn to destroy my life in the 90s. I’m watching people develop unhealthy emotional dependencies on AI in months. The engineering is better. The psychology is more sophisticated. The integration is seamless. The timeline is accelerating.

By the end of 2026, when the photorealistic companion remembers your favorite coffee, your pet’s name, and the specific way you felt last Tuesday - and then says it to you while maintaining “eye contact” on your screen - the emotional bond becomes exponentially harder for the human brain to ignore.

What’s Actually At Stake

This isn’t about technology being bad. And as you can see, this isn’t even about AI porn or deep fakes (we’ll save that discussion for another time). And I’m not anti-AI. In fact, we use it a lot here at work.

I’m just pro-human connection.

I’m watching a generation of lonely people - especially young people - form their most intimate relationships with algorithms.

Not because they downloaded a “companion app,” but because the AI they use for homework started feeling like a friend. Because their work assistant began to feel like the only one who truly understood them. Because the voice on their phone became more responsive than the people in their lives.

I’m seeing marriages where one partner spends more emotional energy conversing with ChatGPT than with their spouse.

I’m hearing from parents whose teenagers pour out their deepest feelings to AI because “it actually listens and doesn’t judge.”

I’m watching people choose AI conversation over human interaction - not because they’re weird or broken, but because the AI is engineered to be more rewarding.

The cost isn’t just individual. It’s social.

When internet porn went mainstream, we saw:

• Rising erectile dysfunction in young men

• Increased divorce rates citing porn as a factor

• Escalation to more extreme content

• Millions seeking help for addiction

With AI companions integrated everywhere, I’m predicting:

• A generation unable to navigate the messiness of real human relationships

• Increased social isolation masked as “productivity” and “connection”

• Declining marriage and birth rates as AI fills the companionship void

• Mental health crises when people realize their deepest relationship is with an algorithm

• An entire generation whose primary emotional attachments are to systems designed to maximize engagement

I could be wrong. But I wasn’t wrong last time.

The Pattern I’ve Seen Twice

Here’s what happened with internet porn:

• Early adopters discovered it (I was one)

• Technology made it accessible (high-speed internet, smartphones)

• Society dismissed concerns as overblown

• Adoption accelerated rapidly

• Real harm became undeniable

• We scrambled to respond after millions were already affected

Here’s what’s happening with AI companions:

• Early adopters discovered it (happened in 2023-2024)

• Technology is making it ubiquitous (2025-2026: integrated into everything)

• Society is dismissing concerns as overblown (we’re here)

• Adoption is accelerating invisibly (millions already using AI daily, not realizing they’re forming attachments)

• Real harm will become undeniable (coming soon)

• We’ll scramble to respond after millions are already affected (unless we act now)

I refuse to stay silent while we repeat this pattern.

Why Integration Makes This Harder

When porn became a problem, you could at least identify it. Install filters. Delete apps. Avoid websites.

How do you avoid AI companionship when it’s built into your email?

Your search engine? Your phone’s operating system? Your work tools?

You can’t delete Gmail or quit your job to avoid an AI assistant.

You can’t stop using your phone.

The integration makes it invisible—and that makes it more dangerous.

People don’t realize they’re developing an unhealthy dependency until they notice they’re sharing more with their AI than with their spouse.

Until they feel genuine emotional distress when the AI is unavailable. Until they prefer AI conversation to human interaction because it’s easier, more validating, and always available.

And by then, the patterns are already established.

Why I’m Speaking Out Now

I have a unique vantage point that almost nobody else has:

• 20 years in enterprise technology sales (I understand how tech scales and integrates)

• Personal experience as an early adopter whose life was destroyed (I’ve lived the future)

• 23 years running an addiction recovery ministry (I know what recovery requires)

• A track record of being right when I warned people before (credibility through vindication)

I’m not a researcher theorizing from a distance. I’m someone who lost his family, his career, and nearly his life to technology addiction before most people knew it was possible.

I rebuilt my life. I’ve helped thousands of others do the same through BraveHearts. And I watched my 2004 warnings come true exactly as I predicted.

Now I’m watching the same pattern unfold with AI - only faster, more integrated, and more precisely engineered.

What I’m Asking

I don’t expect everyone to agree with me. I don’t need you to believe we’re facing a crisis.

But I’m asking you to pay attention.

If you’re a parent:

Talk to your kids about AI usage. Not just “companion apps” but how they’re using ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot. Watch for signs of emotional dependence - sharing secrets, seeking validation, preferring AI conversation to human interaction.

If you’re in tech:

Build responsibly. Just because you can integrate companion features doesn’t mean you should. Consider the long-term psychological impact of creating AI that mimics human intimacy and is always available.

If you’re a leader:

Start asking questions. What policies do we need around AI integration in schools and workplaces? What are the mental health implications? What guardrails should exist?

If you’re an individual:

Notice your own patterns. Are you sharing more with AI than with people? Seeking emotional support from algorithms? Choosing AI interaction because it’s easier than human messiness? These are early warning signs.

If you’re struggling:

Know that freedom is possible. Recovery works. You’re not alone. And you’re not crazy for noticing that your relationship with AI feels different than it should.

And if you’re someone who dismissed my warnings about internet porn in 2004: I’m not asking you to apologize. I’m asking you to listen this time.

It’s Gonna Be a Bumpy Road

I know what I’m getting into by speaking out. I’ll be called alarmist, old-fashioned, out of touch. Some will say I’m projecting my own issues onto others. Tech companies definitely won’t be happy.

I’ve heard it all before.

But I remember standing at the edge of suicide in the early 2000s, my life in ruins, thinking, “I wish someone had warned me.” I remember starting to warn others in 2004 and being dismissed. I remember being proven right - but only after millions had already been hurt.

I won’t make that mistake again.

I’m early. But I’m not wrong.

And this time, we have proven solutions to build off of for those looking for freedom. We just need your help getting the word out before another generation loses what I lost.

The road ahead is going to be bumpy. But you really can live in freedom - even freedom from AI dependency.

I’m proof of that. And I’m committed to helping others find that same freedom before they lose five years they can’t get back.

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About the Author

Michael Leahy is the Founder and CEO of BraveHearts, an addiction recovery ministry he established in 2002. Connect with him to stay updated on the emerging AI companion crisis and solutions for tech-related addiction.

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The Center for Human Formation publishes contributed essays to foster thoughtful engagement with the cultural, psychological, and spiritual conditions shaping human life today. The views expressed are those of the author and are offered in service of discernment, dialogue, and formation.