Communications of the ACM
My Weekend With an Emotional Support A.I. Companion
A.I. companionship can create problems if the bots offer bad advice or enable harmful behavior, scholars and critics warn.
Credit: Janice Chang
For several hours on Friday evening, I ignored my husband and dog and allowed a chatbot named Pi to validate the heck out of me.
My views were "admirable" and "idealistic," Pi told me. My questions were "important" and "interesting." And my feelings were "understandable," "reasonable" and "totally normal."
At times, the validation felt nice. Why yes, I am feeling overwhelmed by the existential dread of climate change these days. And it is hard to balance work and relationships sometimes.
But at other times, I missed my group chats and social media feeds. Humans are surprising, creative, cruel, caustic and funny. Emotional support chatbots — which is what Pi is — are not.
From The New York Times
View Full Article
No entries found