DALL-E/Every illustration.

The Horny Truth About AI Chatbots

What our digital companions reveal about human loneliness

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@peter.m.shirley 12 months ago

Please listen to Kate Bush's 1989 song "Deeper Understanding" (or her 2011 remake) for a well-imagined user perspective, albeit a cautionary one.

Thanks for a thoughtful article about a use of AI I'd heard was happening, but had no idea of the scale. We live in interesting times!

Eric Kerr 12 months ago

Great work on this piece! I appreciate you acknowledging that the rise in loneliness predates the bulk of tech that often gets the blame. I'm not implying absolute innocence, but the problem has deep root. This line stood out to me: "Injecting the constraints of capitalism into emotions, into companionship feels like it diminishes the majesty of the human experience."

Kate Lee 11 months ago

@_erickerr Hi Eric, this is Kate Lee, Every's EIC. We'd like to include your feedback in an upcoming edition of our Sunday newsletter. Would you let me know your job function? Feel free to email me at [email protected]. Thank you!

@mattroche 12 months ago

18.2% of Americans are 14 or under, so 26% not having sex doesn't seem so bad...

Most regular users of Heroin and Methamphetamine are also deeply disturbed when you remove their supply. The AI chatbots are drugs that hack our social systems. This will not end well.

Evan Armstrong 12 months ago

@mattroche that is my bad! that 26% is of american adults, should've made that more clear. you could be right and there is data out there to support your thesis! i wonder if it'll end up like social media, 5-20 years of outright addiction than a society level reduction in usage because harms become obvious?

Davidreid73 12 months ago

Some things I agree 👍🏽 with and some things I didn't like for example putting extra oil in your robot to mate with!

@rick.wegener009 12 months ago

One of my primary concerns is accessibility of these services by the young.
Scenario - Age of 3 - you graduate to receive your first AI companion embedded in a fluffy toy. Parents tweak AI to start moulding behavioural patterns. Throughout the child years the AI is updated and moved from one inanimate object to another. 'Inclusiveness' comes into the picture and the child is "coached" on all forms of sexuality. By the time they reach there teens the necessary usual social norms are completely warped and they move away from human contact altogether... Without the necessary protections and fail-safes the coming years are going to be a roller-coaster ride of events challenging the fabric of social structures.