Feb 21
Can You Be Friends With A Robot AI - And Should You Try?
Micah Lott - Boston College
Advances in machine learning have made possible AI agents with remarkable abilities for interacting with humans, including engaging in deeply personal conversations. Already tens of millions of people are using companion AIs such as Replika who advertises its AI product as “an empathetic friend.” Some users testify that their relationships with AI companions are deeply meaningful and little different from loving relationships with humans. What should we make of these emerging practices? Can you really be friends with a robot? What goods or harms might come from such relationships with AI agents, especially if (as many predict) these relationships become widespread?
Sponsored by the John Tymoczko Endowed Fund for Science and Society