Why we can't help treating AI like a human — and whether we should
A TechCrunch reporter visiting MIT CSAIL met two Unitree humanoid robots — priced around $50,000 each according to his guide, though the vendor says $16,000 — and instinctively shook one's hand and greeted it. At MIT Future Fest, Sherry Turkle, who has studied human-computer relationships since joining MIT in 1976, launched her book "Artificial Intimacy," arguing people believe relational artifacts care for them and are wired to care back. MIT Media Lab's Pat Pataranutaporn, who founded the Cyborg Psychology group, asks who we become when we talk to AI; he served as an expert in a wrongful-death lawsuit involving Character.AI.
As LLMs spread into search and customer service, our pull to anthropomorphize them can offer companionship but also erode real relationships and a sense of agency.