Comment by chneu
3 months ago
There are already kids, young adults, and adults who are "falling in love" with AI personas.
I think this is going to be a much bigger issue for kids than people are aware of.
I remember reading a story a few months ago of a kid, about 14 I think, who wasn't socially popular. He got into an AI persona, fell in love, and then killed himself after the AI hinted he should do it. The story should be easy to find.
People have said it before but we're speeding towards two kinds of society: "the massively online" people who spend the majority of their time online in a fantasy world, then the "disconnected" who live in the real world.
I already see it with people. Look at how we view politics in many countries. Like 1/4th of people believe absolute nonsense because they spend too much time online.
One of the things I feel like is surreal when I'm using an AI chat bot is that it never tells me to leave it alone and stop responding. It's the strangest thing, you could be as big of a jerk, and it'll play back it you in whatever banter it's programmed to.
I feel like this is a kind of psychological drug for people. It's like being the popular kid at the party. No matter how you treat people, you can get away with it, and the counter-party keeps playing along.
It's just strange.