NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Children today are not just growing up with friends from school or down the street. Many are now talking to machines.

From chatbots that mimic classmates to apps offering late-night homework help, artificial intelligence has quietly become a part of childhood. Experts say it is spreading faster than most parents realize.

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"This is moving very fast," Oliver Roberts, a law professor at Washington University School of Law, said. "Children using AI chatbots as companions is now an epidemic. Nearly 72% of children now do it. Parents should take a hard look at what technologies their children are using and how they're using them."

That warning has reached Capitol Hill. Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tenn

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