# "Death" of a Chatbot: Investigating and Designing Toward Psychologically Safe Endings for Human-AI Relationships

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.07193 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2602.07193/

## Key facts

- Cited by 4 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 7 of its 101 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 6 Feb 2026.

## Builds on (most cited first, 7 of 7)

- [The Dark Side of AI Companionship: A Taxonomy of Harmful Algorithmic Behaviors in Human-AI Relationships](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.20130/) (2024)
- [Why human-AI relationships need socioaffective alignment](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2502.02528/) (2025)
- ["My Boyfriend is AI": A Computational Analysis of Human-AI Companionship in Reddit's AI Community](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2509.11391/) (2025)
- [Generative Ghosts: Anticipating Benefits and Risks of AI Afterlives](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2402.01662/) (2024)
- [Simulating Psychological Risks in Human-AI Interactions: Real-Case Informed Modeling of AI-Induced Addiction, Anorexia, Depression, Homicide, Psychosis, and Suicide](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2511.08880/) (2025)
- [Future You: Designing and Evaluating Multimodal AI-generated Digital Twins for Strengthening Future Self-Continuity](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2512.06106/) (2025)
- [Bridging Bond Beyond Life: Designing VR Memorial Space with Stakeholder Collaboration via Research through Design](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2504.15797/) (2025)

## Built on by (most cited first, 4 of 4)

- [Synergy: A Next-Generation General-Purpose Agent for Open Agentic Web](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2603.28428/) (2026)
- [Beyond Feeling Better: Capability-Sustaining Emotional Dialogue as a Longitudinal Research Paradigm](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2607.27851/) (2026)
- [Disrupted Companionship: A Risk Assessment Framework and Cross-Platform Quantitative Analysis of Psychosocial Responses to AI Companion Disruptions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2609.16907/) (2026)
- ["MeBo Leaves a Piece of You Behind": Designing a Relational Voice-Based Memory Companion for Older Adults](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2609.24706/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Millions of users form emotional attachments to AI companions like Character AI, Replika, and ChatGPT. When these relationships end through model updates, safety interventions, or platform shutdowns, users receive no closure, reporting grief comparable to human loss. As regulations mandate protections for vulnerable users, discontinuation events will accelerate, yet no platform has implemented deliberate end-of-"life" design. Through grounded theory analysis of AI companion communities, we find that discontinuation is a sense-making process shaped by how users attribute agency, perceive finality, and anthropomorphize their companions. Strong anthropomorphization co-occurs with intense grief; users who perceive change as reversible become trapped in fixing cycles; while user-initiated endings demonstrate greater closure. Synthesizing grief psychology with Self-Determination Theory, we develop four design principles and artifacts demonstrating how platforms might provide closure and orient users toward human connection. We contribute the first framework for designing psychologically safe AI companion discontinuation.