New Yorker articles do a good job of showing a variety of perspectives to any topic. But, like life, while we can be discerning readers, and even change our opinions through reading, a lot of times we stake out a position and then look for evidence to support. I did that with this week's article on AI companions.
The phrase I liked was "there is no greater pleasure than good chat." So very true! Connections. In a look, a comment, an exchange, and even best, an extended conversation lasting over time, I love a good chat.
The article was about more than chatting, though. It was about how AI has become a go-to for many needing what used to be called human connection. While it did a pretty good job of working at convincing me, I still resist.
I understand that not all people can find that connection or that they find it impossibly hard, and so they quit trying, but AI? Will that help them to be in the world? That was the conundrum.
For now, AI will evolve and we will with it. My best hope is that we find ways to live and connect, human to human, and if for some, that takes time with an AI companion, so be it, but not if AI consumes us and contributes to the disjointed world we live in today where so many people stay in their own bubble, isolated and afraid to make the effort.
Time Will Tell
