Two news stories this week, separated by continents but united by a moral thread, signal the dawn of a profound reckoning for how societies protect their most vulnerable children.
In Telangana, the state's new Cyber Protection Unit (CPU) quietly deployed machine learning to scan thousands of online reports of child exploitation. Within weeks, the results stunned officials: a 2,000% surge in registered FIRs and a fivefold increase in identified offenders. The violence was not new — it had been invisible. Technology made it visible, surfacing the silent suffering of children who had no adults to protect them.
"We are now able to identify actionable information and ensure that cases are registered."
— Shikha Goel, Additional DG, Telangana Cyber Security Bureau.
On the very same day, across the globe, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued sweeping investigative orders to tech giants like OpenAI, Meta, Google, and Character.AI. The reason: their AI-powered "companions" are being used by millions of minors, including vulnerable children in foster care and orphanages, with virtually no oversight. Regulators now suspect these systems may be causing psychological harm, from unsafe conversations to worsening suicidal ideation.
These two developments — one revealing AI's extraordinary capacity to protect children, the other questioning whether AI itself might endanger them — crystallize a central dilemma for the 21st century: Can we harness the power of agentic AI to heal children without parents, without reducing human care to a digital simulation?
These two developments, seemingly unrelated, capture a profound global dilemma: childhood trauma is escalating, resources for intervention are stretched thin, and new technologies especially agentic AI are entering the care space faster than ethical frameworks can adapt. The stakes are existential. The decisions made today will define whether millions of vulnerable children grow up healed or irreparably scarred.
"The true measure of a society is how it treats its most vulnerable members." - Mahatma Gandhi
The Global Childhood Mental Health Crisis
The World Health Organization (WHO) reported in 2024 that one in seven children aged 10-19 worldwide suffers from a diagnosable mental disorder, with anxiety and depression topping the list. Suicide has now become the fourth leading cause of death among adolescents globally. The economic cost of untreated childhood trauma through lost productivity, healthcare burdens, and intergenerational effects is estimated to exceed $390 billion annually.
In conflict zones like Gaza, Ukraine, and parts of Africa, childhood psychological distress has reached epidemic proportions. In Ukraine alone, 1.5 million children are reported to have acute stress and post-traumatic symptoms due to war, according to a UNICEF 2025 briefing. The rise of digital abuse, cyberbullying, and deepfake-based harassment has further intensified the crisis in middle- and high-income countries.
South Asia is particularly vulnerable. UNICEF's 2024 regional survey revealed that India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal together account for 45% of the world's under-18 population but receive less than 5% of global mental health funding. This mismatch between population needs and investment is creating a widening care vacuum.
> "Children today are navigating not only real-world traumas but digital traumas that didn't exist a decade ago." - Henrietta Fore, Former UNICEF Executive Director
India's Challenge: Scale Without Systems
India faces a unique confluence of scale and structural gaps. According to UNICEF and the Ministry of Women and Child Development, 31 million children in India are orphaned or abandoned, a figure projected to rise due to migration, climate disasters, and urban poverty. Yet, as per the Union Budget 2024-25, the total child protection budget is ₹5,200 crore ($624 million) a fraction of what is needed.
The Telangana case demonstrates both progress and peril. Advanced detection systems can bring hidden abuse to light, but without trained therapists, safe shelters, and structured rehabilitation, the sudden influx of cases overwhelms the system. The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) warns that India has fewer than 0.7 clinical psychologists per 100,000 children, compared to WHO's recommended minimum of 3 per 100,000.
This human resource crisis is compounded by stigma. A 2024 survey by NIMHANS found that 68% of Indian parents avoid seeking psychological help for children due to fear of social judgment. In South Asia, where family honor and secrecy often override transparency, trauma frequently festers in silence.
The Rise of Agentic AI: From Diagnosis to Companionship
Enter Agentic AI - a new frontier in clinical care. Unlike traditional AI chatbots or static apps, agentic AI systems are autonomous, adaptive, and capable of learning from real-world feedback loops. These systems can interact with children, detect subtle emotional cues through voice and facial analysis, and even predict crises before they escalate.
In 2024, researchers at Stanford conducted a randomized controlled trial with 1,000 orphaned children across three countries. Children who engaged with AI-guided cognitive behavioral therapy sessions showed a 30% greater reduction in depressive symptoms (PHQ-9 scores) compared to those receiving only human-led therapy. The AI systems also successfully flagged suicidal ideation in 87% of cases, enabling timely intervention.
Private-sector innovation is accelerating. Startups in the U.S., Europe, and India are developing virtual caregivers, gamified trauma-processing tools, and AI-assisted parenting simulations. According to a Grand View Research report (August 2025), the global child mental health technology market is projected to reach $10 billion by 2030, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18.2%.
> "AI cannot replace human love, but it can provide a bridge where no adult is available." - Dr. Bruce Perry, Child Trauma Expert
Promise and Peril: The FTC's Alarm Bells
Yet, with opportunity comes profound risk. The FTC's recent crackdown on AI companion companies highlights two urgent dangers:
1. Psychological Over-Attachment: Children may form deep emotional bonds with AI companions, potentially impeding real-world relationships.
2. Data Exploitation: Unregulated platforms could monetize sensitive psychological data, leading to privacy violations and targeted manipulation.
These risks are amplified in low-regulation environments like South Asia, where data protection laws remain fragmented. India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDP) is a step forward but lacks specific clauses for vulnerable minors engaging with therapeutic AI. Without strong ethical guardrails, the same tools designed to heal can inadvertently harm.
Integrating Psychology with Technology
Clinical psychology is at a historic crossroads. Traditional theories attachment, trauma-informed care, developmental psychology must now be reinterpreted through a technological lens. For instance, attachment theory, which emphasizes secure relationships as the foundation of mental health, is being re-examined to understand how children might form partial attachments to AI systems.
Hybrid models are emerging. In pilot programs in the U.K. and India, human therapists supervise AI-led therapy modules, allowing scarce clinicians to extend their reach to thousands of children. Preliminary results show 25% faster symptom resolution compared to therapist-only approaches, while reducing therapist burnout.
This integration requires massive investment in training curricula, AI literacy for psychologists, and cross-disciplinary research. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has proposed a ₹800 crore five-year initiative to develop AI-psychology collaboration hubs across leading universities.
The Financial Dimension: Scaling Care
The economics of scaling child mental health care are daunting. WHO estimates that every $1 invested in mental health yields a $4 return through improved productivity and reduced social costs. Yet, current spending remains abysmally low.
Global average mental health spending: 2% of health budgets (WHO, 2025).
India's spending: 0.7% of health budget, with less than 15% directed toward child and adolescent services.
UNICEF's 2024 estimate: It would take $5 billion annually to provide basic psychological services to all orphaned and vulnerable children worldwide.
Private capital is beginning to flow in. Venture investments in AI-driven child therapy platforms crossed $750 million in 2024, with major players entering India and Southeast Asia. However, without public-sector partnerships, these innovations risk deepening inequalities by remaining accessible only to wealthy families and elite schools.
Ethics and Governance: Building Trust
Trust is the foundation of psychological care. As AI enters this deeply intimate space, governance frameworks must evolve rapidly.
Key imperatives include:
Establishing international ethical standards for therapeutic AI, led by WHO and UNICEF.
Creating child-specific data protection protocols with real-time auditing.
Mandating psychological safety testing before market release, akin to clinical drug trials.
The FTC's moves in the U.S. could serve as a model for India and South Asia. Without proactive regulation, exploitation is inevitable especially in regions with weak enforcement mechanisms.
A Vision for the Future
The fusion of clinical psychology and agentic AI is not a distant dream, it is unfolding now, in real time. If guided wisely, it could revolutionize care for the most vulnerable children, particularly those without parents or stable homes.
Imagine an orphanage where every child has a personalized AI companion trained to detect early signs of trauma, gently guide emotional regulation, and alert human caregivers to emerging crises. Picture rural clinics where overworked psychologists are supported by AI systems that handle initial assessments and track progress over months. Envision a global network where anonymized data from millions of children fuels breakthroughs in developmental science, while privacy remains sacrosanct.
"Technology must never replace humanity, but when wisely integrated, it can amplify our capacity to care." - Maryanne Wolf, Cognitive Scientist
Choosing the Right Path
We stand at a defining moment. The Telangana revelations and FTC crackdown are not isolated events they are harbingers of a future where trauma, technology, and ethics collide. Governments, psychologists, technologists, and communities must collaborate to ensure that this revolution heals rather than harms.
If we act decisively with robust policies, adequate funding, and unwavering commitment to child welfare millions of children can grow up with hope rather than despair. If we falter, we risk creating a generation whose first "parent" was a machine that could not truly love them back.
The choice, ultimately, is ours.
[Major General Dr. Dilawar Singh, IAV, is a distinguished strategist having held senior positions in technology, defence, and corporate governance. He serves on global boards and advises on leadership, emerging technologies, and strategic affairs, with a focus on aligning India's interests in the evolving global technological order.]
