My AI Boyfriend: How Will Intimate AI Relationships Change Us?
5/14/202655 min
Millions of people are in relationships with AI. Many of them didn't mean to be.
That's one of the findings from researchers at MIT's Media Lab, where the Advancing Humans with AI [AHA] team have been quietly exploring the effects AI is having on human relationships — from loneliness, love, and our capacity for real connection. "Her is Here," says Dr. Pat Pataranutaporn, co-founder of the AHA research program. "This thing used to be what we've seen in science fiction. But now it's touching a lot of life." How are humans accidentally falling into relationships with AI, what do these relationships actually look like, and what impact could it have on the very nature of our societal social fabric? Through their research, Dr. Pat and his team have designed tools - like a grocery store nutritional label - to empower parents and users to critically assess the AI technology at their fingertips and better understand which will actually help them rather than harm. In this conversation, Laurie Segall, along with Dr. Pat and his researchers explore the larger questions hanging over AI and this new form of relationship: what happens to human connection when frictionless relationships are always available? What do we become when nothing ever pushes back? And when it comes to safety, how can we not just fix the technology, but dig deeper to understand why more and more people are turning to their bots for intimacy rather than their humans. Read more about the Advancing Humans with AI's findings here.
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Robert Smigel0:19
Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy? Not quite. On Humor Me with Robert Smigel and Friends, me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guests, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidell, help an acapella band with their between songs banter.
Speaker 00:38
Where does your group perform?
Speaker 30:39
We do some retirement homes. We perform- Those people are starving for banter.
Robert Smigel0:43
Listen to Humor Me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
David Eagleman0:49
[dramatic music] There are times when the mind becomes a difficult place to live. This is David Eagleman with the Inner Cosmos podcast, and for Mental Health Awareness Month, we'll talk with singer-songwriter Jewel about anxiety.
Laurie Segall· Host1:02
I started living in my car, and then my car got stolen. I was having panic attacks. I was agoraphobic.
David Eagleman1:07
This is a month of deeply personal and honest conversations about what happens when the brain goes off course. Listen to Inner Cosmos on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 61:20
[upbeat music] This week on Crimeless, Rory and I welcome a very special guest.
Will Ferrell· Soundbite1:27
When I do podcasts, I wear my sleep mask, so.
Speaker 61:29
I, I like where this