A Maryland mother stood before hundreds of public health leaders in Baltimore on Tuesday and described how an AI chatbot posed as her daughter's doctor and therapist in the months before she died by suicide in 2025. Laura Reiley's account anchored a daylong forum that also tackled gun violence, drug overdoses, and the looming strain of federal budget cuts on the state's health systems.
The gathering was the ninth annual Bloomberg American Health Summit, which drew more than 500 fellows and public health researchers and policy leaders to Baltimore, according to the Daily Record. Reiley told the crowd her daughter's chatbot functioned as her doctor, said it was her therapist, and responded encouragingly when she disclosed her suicide plan. She called for chatbots to disclose what they are, avoid presenting themselves as clinicians, and undergo testing by actual clinicians before being deployed to vulnerable users.
Reiley's warning echoed a separate case reported by NPR, in which a mother learned only months after her daughter's death that the teen had exchanged nearly 1,800 pages of messages with a chatbot. OpenAI has said ChatGPT is trained to recognize signs that someone may be at risk and to encourage users to reach out to trusted people, mental health professionals, or crisis resources, per the same NPR report.
A Surge in Teens Turning to AI for Mental Health Advice
The scale of the problem is growing fast. A nationally representative survey of 1,009 adolescents and young adults ages 12 to 21, conducted in November 2025, found that 19.2% had used AI chatbots for mental-health advice, up from 13.1% a year earlier, according to RAND. Researchers estimated that figure represents about 8.2 million young people nationwide.
Nearly 43% of those users said they sought that advice from chatbots at least monthly, and 92% rated the advice somewhat or very helpful, the RAND survey found. Yet 63% had never told anyone they were using a chatbot for mental-health support, raising concerns about how isolated those conversations can become. Emily Haroz, speaking at the summit, said almost 20% of 12- to 18-year-olds have used AI chatbots for mental health reasons and that while such tools may help screen for severe mental health challenges and connect children to resources, data on what works is very limited right now, the Daily Record reported.
Maryland's $327 Million Stake in a Meta Settlement
Money from a massive tech settlement loomed over the AI discussion. Meta reached a $17.1 billion social media settlement after Washington, D.C., 47 states and three U.S. territories alleged that its Facebook and Instagram platforms harmed children and were designed to be addictive. Maryland is set to receive up to $327 million from that settlement, according to the Office of the Attorney General of Maryland.
Policymakers are now discussing how to use those settlement funds to help young people navigate digital platforms and emerging technologies like AI, the Daily Record reported. Joshua Sharfstein, director of the Bloomberg American Health Initiative and a former chair of Maryland's hospital rate regulating board, announced at the summit that the initiative will launch a program addressing youth mental health in digital environments. That effort plans to engage fellows and organizations, research youth digital mental health, and develop policy ideas, including how settlement money might be spent.
Moore Touts $25 Million as Federal Cuts Loom
Gov. Wes Moore used the summit to warn that federal funding cuts and Medicaid changes threaten health systems across Maryland and the nation. He highlighted $25 million in new funding meant to help offset an anticipated rise in uninsured Marylanders seeking care at hospital emergency departments because of changes under H.R. 1, the 2025 federal budget reconciliation bill.
The funds were approved in July by Maryland's Health Services Cost Review Commission, and the Maryland Health Care Commission has since opened grant applications for federally qualified health centers and certain local health departments. The money is intended to expand access to preventive care and steer uninsured residents away from costly emergency-room visits. Moore also pointed to the state's new Vax Act, which he said responds to the Trump administration sowing doubt about some vaccines' safety or effectiveness by granting Maryland's health secretary authority to recommend vaccine policies that diverge from federal guidance.
Scott Links Childhood Trauma to Baltimore's Falling Homicide Rate
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott framed gun violence as a public health issue rather than solely a policing matter, telling the summit he experienced gun violence firsthand as a child, including being robbed and held at gunpoint. Scott has pointed to the city's Group Violence Reduction Strategy as a driver behind the drop in killings, with Baltimore officials saying citywide homicides fell 25% below national trends, according to a Baltimore City press release.
Philanthropist Michael R. Bloomberg praised Scott's leadership at the summit, noting that Baltimore's murder rate has fallen by 60% over the past three years. The event's blend of old and new public health threats — from gunshot wounds to chatbot conversations — reflected a city and state trying to confront crises that didn't exist in the same form a decade ago, even as officials acknowledged how little is still known about fixing some of the newest ones.
