Body Electric: If a bot relationship FEELS real, should we care that it’s not?

TED Radio Hour (NPR) – (July 9, 2024).  Host Manoush Zomorodi talks to Sherry Turkle about her new research into what she calls “artificial intimacy,” and its impact on our mental and physical health.

A MARTÍNEZ, BYLINE: Now, we've all heard that having friends is good for our health, but what if we have a close relationship with a bot? Well, thanks to advances in AI, chatbots can act as personalized therapists, companions and romantic partners, too. The apps offering these services have been downloaded millions of times, but what are the implications of people having relationships that aren't really real? NPR host Manoush Zomorodi has been investigating this on the latest episode of the podcast Body Electric. She's here to tell us more. So first of all, how do these apps work?

MANOUSH ZOMORODI, BYLINE: OK, it's pretty simple, A. There are numerous apps that you can download and then choose what kind of friend you want to text with or talk to by phone. For my reporting, I tried out a life coach, a fitness coach, a bestie and a psychologist, and I got to say, generative AI makes their responses feel very real, which is why some people are starting to spend a lot of time with these bots.

MARTÍNEZ: All right, so tell us more about the attraction of this. I mean, what are they getting out of these relationships? I mean, why spend time chatting with a bot instead of an actual flesh-and-blood person?

ZOMORODI: There are a lot of reasons why you'd go for one of these other bots. Maybe you can't afford a human therapist. Maybe you live in a remote place. It's hard to meet people. Or you have a disability. You can't get out much. But some people - they're just looking for companionships, and these bots will say that they care for you, that they even love you. I talked to MIT sociologist and psychologist Sherry Turkle, who is researching these new AI relationships, and she shared an example of someone she is studying.

SHERRY TURKLE: I'm thinking of a man who is in a stable marriage. He's respectful of her, but she really is working, taking care of the kids, and he turns to his artificial intimacy avatar for interest in him in a sexy way but, most of all, for the buttressing of his ideas, his anxieties with comments like, you're absolutely right. You're a great guy. I really appreciate you...

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