Youth as Underrepresented Stakeholders in AI-Mediated Health Environments: A Bioethical Analysis of Regulatory Gaps

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into digital media and health information ecosystems-including large language model chatbots, AI-enabled mHealth applications, and algorithmically curated social media-is reshaping how adolescents encounter and interpret health-related content. While regulatory debates emphasize innovation and efficiency, insufficient attention has been paid to youth as stakeholders whose interests and perspectives are rarely represented in AI governance. This article offers a bioe…

By the Truvace deskOctober 15, 20262 min read1 sourcePeer-reviewedTRV-2026-1395· cite & verify

Youth as Underrepresented Stakeholders in AI-Mediated Health Environments: A Bioethical Analysis of Regulatory Gaps — Conditions pour IA digne de confiance conditions requirements for Trustworthy AI by Lamiot. CC BY 4.0 · https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

In brief

The article is a bioethical analysis of how federal and state regulation in the United States handles AI in the digital spaces where adolescents meet health information, including chatbots, AI-enabled mobile health apps and algorithmically curated social media. It finds that regulatory attention centers on innovation and efficiency while young people's interests are rarely represented.

The analysis matters because it frames adolescent vulnerability as arising from the interaction of developmental, technological and social factors, not from shortcomings in young people themselves. Because it is a conceptual argument and not a measurement of outcomes, its proposals for youth-specific impact assessments and participation mechanisms remain recommendations whose effects are untested.

Main points

The analysis covers LLM chatbots, AI-enabled mHealth applications and algorithmically curated social media as sources of adolescent health information.
It applies respect for developing autonomy, distributive justice and nonmaleficence to US federal and state approaches.
Disclosure-based models are argued to place interpretive burdens on users, with developmental stakes for adolescents.
Transparency and accountability gaps are said to affect AI-generated and commercially influenced health content.
Proposed remedies include youth-specific AI impact assessments and mechanisms for youth participation.

The problem

Federal and state approaches to AI in the US insufficiently address adolescents' developmental interests and algorithmic risk, leaving youth largely absent from governance decisions about health information environments.

The rundown

The paper argues that adolescents move through digital health ecosystems shaped by algorithmic curation and inconsistent credibility signals. Despite this, they have little say in the governance decisions that shape those environments.

A central critique is of disclosure-based regulatory models. Such models expect users to interpret disclosures themselves, which the authors argue is a particular burden for adolescents given the developmental stakes involved.

The authors call for developmentally responsive, equity-oriented governance. Concrete measures named are youth-specific AI impact assessments and mechanisms that let young people participate in decisions about AI.