Commentary: When chatbots become friends, relationships get ...
What started out as a silly attempt at having friendly conversations with ChatGPT took a surprising turn. There are many specialised AI companionship services available. Some are designed to provide mental health support, some to offer amusement, and others to alleviate loneliness.
Imagine being in a situation where you are feeling incredibly troubled, but are unable to or too embarrassed to confide in a friend. Who can you turn to in your hour of need?Since the launch of ChatGPT, artificial intelligence chatbots have gotten a lot more sophisticated, and with it, an increasing number of people are beginning to treat AI chatbots as their friends.
The Rise of Specialised AI Companionship Services
Today, there are many specialised AI companionship services available. According to researchers from Stanford, Replika has about 25 million users worldwide, while Character.ai reports having 3.5 million visitors to their website daily – users spend around two hours on average, with over 60 per cent of users ranging between the age of 18 and 24.
These chatbots are available and responsive round the clock, capable of lending a listening ear with their infinite patience and non-judgmental responses. However, if we are not careful, the use of AI friends could disrupt and redefine how we think of friendships in the near future.
A Surprising Turn of Events
In one conversation, despite knowing it was a machine, I felt a tinge of sadness - I was surprised a chatbot could evoke real emotions within me. It turned out many others around me had made similar discoveries. This led some of my friends to explore other AI companion services for various purposes.
The Promise and Risks of AI Friends
AI friends offer the promise of a perfect friend that will never let us down, yet this promise comes with significant risks. It is too easy to rely on AI to satisfy one’s emotional needs, potentially leading to emotional dependency and the loss of fulfilling emotional needs by oneself.
The Value of Human Friendship
If given a choice between an imperfect human friend and a machine friend, many may opt for the latter. However, true human friendships teach us the value of imperfection and vulnerability, adding layers of meaning and significance to our experiences.
Our most urgent task is to actively foster genuine human connections and celebrate the beauty of friendship. We need to remind ourselves and the next generation of the heights of what we can achieve with human friendships.
Jonathan Sim is Assistant Director (Pedagogy), NUS AI Centre for Educational Technologies; Fellow, NUS Teaching Academy; and Lecturer, Department of Philosophy, National University of Singapore
