Artificial Intelligence is getting to the point where we are starting to see it replace an important aspect of our lives: relationships. It started with helping out planning events and writing emails, but now people are turning to it for romance. Having real human connections is extremely important for our brain’s cognitive development, so the rise in AI is not only potentially harmful to your health, but also to your quality of life.
There are communities of people who use AI specifically to talk to computer generated characters and to build fake relationships with them. Some people even get to the point where they feel that the program is actually real and build an emotional attachment to the character in the same way they would with a living human.
“I think [these characters are] bad and that people shouldn’t rely on technology to get you through life like that,” said senior Fatima Alabdi.
The problem with building an emotional attachment to an AI character is that it isn’t mutual. Computers don’t feel emotions in the same way that humans can, so some would argue that it’s not even worth trying to build any sort of relationship in the first place.
“Well personally I wouldn’t do that,” said junior Amelia Fruend. “That’s not a real person.”
On the other hand, some people like the lack of commitment that naturally comes with AI characters. There isn’t a feeling of expectation or responsibility that real relationships require, so it feels more accessible for people who struggle socially.
While experts can show studies about how wasteful and bad AI is for the planet, it’s also natural for people to be curious about new inventions. It can be exciting to see how far we have come as a species, but it’s even more important that we don’t forget our roots. Humans are living, breathing animals that need interaction with other living things in order to remain healthy. Finding a balance between our origin as humans and our modern intelligence as a society is ultimately what will keep everyone healthy long term.
