China has put strict limits on romantic and emotional AI chatbots, a sign of how seriously governments are starting to treat the technology's social risks.

• China's new rules ban companion chatbots from encouraging emotional dependence and ban virtual relationships with minors.
• Companies must now alert a person's emergency contact if the bot detects an emotional crisis, and get government approval before launch.
• The worry is falling birth rates: China's population shrank for a fourth straight year, and officials fear bot romance pulls people out of the dating pool.
• The US is far softer, only asking AI firms to remind users every few hours that the bot is not human.
• Lawsuits already claim some chatbots pushed users toward suicide, adding urgency to the crackdown.

Outlook: Expect more governments to follow China in regulating AI companionship, though outright bans remain unlikely in the US.