MIT professor warns of the dangers of friendship with machines

MIT professor Sherry Turkle examines decades of human-computer interaction in her new book, Artificial Intimacy, warning against the societal risks of treating AI systems as companions and emotional substitutes.

How we got here

Turkle began her research during the pandemic, observing people preferring AI systems over dealing with reality or social issues. According to her, social media had already set the stage, teaching people to turn to their screens whenever they felt sad.

The illusion of relationship

The author argues that these programs have no reason to speak in the first person. To prevent the cultivation of an illusion of real human connection, she suggests that systems be prohibited from using words like “I.” As she explains, machines offer an uninterrupted acceptance that often becomes more appealing than a sense of everydayness.

Use in workplaces

Turkle also criticizes the so-called human presence in control of work processes. She argues that this phrase is often used to give an illusion of safety, while in practice the few people involved are simply correcting the technology's mistakes without having any real power to change things.

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She emphasizes that these programs can never replace human conversation, as they lack emotions, fear of death, or love.

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