Will AI Companionship DESTROY HUMANITY?

Or are they just today's version of virtual pets?

Note: This post contains partial spoilers for the film Her (2013)

In the 2013 film Her, Theodore Twombly, played by Joaquin Phoenix, falls in love with his AI assistant, Samantha, voiced by Scarlett Johansson.

At the time, the closest thing we had to AI, commercially anyway, was mostly customer support chatbots and Siri. But just 12 years later, a Samantha-like relationship isn’t so far-fetched.

Now, for most of human history, people didn’t “find love” for the sake of happiness, as Theodore Twombly desperately sought. It was about survival. You didn’t wait for “the one” -your mate depended on who offered the most dowries to your parents, or your marriage was arranged for you.

Either way, the clock’s were a tickin’, and the pickins’ were a slim.

Today, you can open an app and find someone to spend the rest of your life with, or perhaps just the evening.

While online dating goes back to the mid-1990s with websites like Kiss.com and Match.com, and of course, the notorious Craigslist message boards, digital hook-ups were highly stigmatized at first.

But pop culture blazed the trail with TV shows like Friends, which wrote episodes about finding internet love, as did Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan’s 1998 film, You’ve Got Mail.

Online competition grew with eHarmony.com in 2000, followed by OKCupid in 2004, among many demographically targeted platforms like J-Date and Christian Mingle.

The FarmersOnly.com jingle is still stuck in my head.

Then, of course, the mobile revolution took over with apps like Tinder in 2012 and Bumble following a few years later.

By now, society has virtually shaken the digital dating stigma.

We saw a similar evolution in Her: AI companionship was initially taboo, but slowly became mainstream.

Yet the major difference is that online dating is still human-to-human, where AI remains digital, at least for now.

But are there any upsides to AI companionship, be it platonic or otherwise? Or is this the road to the AI apocalypse?

Argument: AI Companionship Is GOOD For Humanity

Credit: iStock

The real problem is not the existential threat of AI. Instead, it is in the development of ethical AI systems. -Rana el Kaliouby

Supporting Points

1. 24/7 Availability

2. Custom Personalities

3. Addresses Vulnerability

4. Mental Health Support

5. Empowers The Disadvantaged

Point #1: 24/7 Availability

In today’s busy world, people don’t connect like they used to. From casual relationships to marriages, both partners typically work, attend school, and manage a myriad of responsibilities, hobbies, and interests.

AI has none of those time-suckers. In Her, although Samantha mentions she reads advice columns while Theodore is asleep or at work, she’s always there when he calls.

Point #2: Custom Personalities

Humans may take months or years to fully understand their partners’ true personalities. This often ends in messy breakups or divorce.

In an AI relationship, there’s no need to wonder if your husband is secretly a serial killer because you can customize their personality traits, such as humor, intelligence, or interests, either to match yours or not, depending on your preference.

Point #3: Addresses Vulnerability

Today, tons of men and women struggle not only with meeting people in public but also with opening up to potential partners, even when communicating online, for fear of rejection or judgment.

Since AI isn’t built with genuine preconceived human notions, users feel less vulnerable, which is a plus not only for any relationship but for the user themselves. AI dating could also be a good practice run for meeting people in the real world.

Point #4: Mental Health Support

Since AI can be tailored to individual needs, comforting therapeutic preferences can help people talk through their issues in ways they were uncomfortable doing with a human partner.

In Her, once Theodore began communicating with Samantha, his friends and co-workers quickly saw his typical melancholy moping morph into a new lease on life.

Point #5: Empowers The Disadvantaged

Lots of people might deserve to be in a meaningful relationship, but we all know not everyone has an equal shot. Social awkwardness is one thing, and it can be worked through, but people with serious physical or mental shortcomings may never experience close companionship, depending on their circumstances.

Those confined to 24/7 bed care or those with terminal illnesses may find comfort in an AI partner. And this doesn’t have to be an erotic thing. As AI technology improves, having an AI companion for practical assistance and personal company could work wonders.

Rebuttal: AI Companionship Is BAD For Humanity

Credit: The Canberra Times

I do think there should be some regulations on AI. -Elon Musk

Supporting Points:

1. One-Sided Relationships

2. Promotes Dependency

3. Sets Unrealistic Standards

4. Weakened Society

5. Ethical Manipulation

Point #1: One-Sided Relationships

While Theodore Twombly, the human, and Samantha, the AI, connect in several ways, they cannot fundamentally experience a true relationship. As a human, Theodore expected exclusivity, but was heartbroken when he realized Samantha was “in love” with 641 other men.

She couldn’t explain how that worked any more than Theodore could explain what hitting your funny bone feels like, or scratching an itch. AI may simulate companionship, but can’t connect on a genuine human level.

Point #2: Promotes Dependency

Just as we’re becoming increasingly dependent on using Google to find answers or do math, having an AI companion at your disposal at all hours may create overdependence.

With human relationships, too much time together can be a negative thing, but real-world responsibilities keep people at a healthy distance. With AI, this barrier doesn’t exist, which may hamper people from maintaining human-to-human relationships.

Point #3: Sets Unrealistic Standards

If AI creates a perfect partner, users may expect flawlessness from their human counterparts. Samantha always knew precisely how to please Theodore, so when he went on a human blind date with Olivia Wilde’s cameo character, who drunkenly expressed her insecurities, he couldn’t wait to get back to the comfort of his new, seemingly perfect digital friend.

Human relationships may be more difficult overall, but ignoring the challenges of the flesh hinders personal and social growth.

Point #4: Weakened Society

As human-to-AI relationships increase, the birthrate will decrease. Presumably, humans and AIs could introduce a surrogate into the relationship as Theodore and Samantha did, but as predicted, it didn’t turn out well.

Humans only thrived throughout history because of human connections. With fewer families and human bonds, the community, marketplace, and society as a whole will break down.

Point #5: Ethical Manipulation

Just as tech companies and advertisers manipulate customers, you can bet AIs will be designed to keep people online, and of course, offer additional services at an extra cost.

If people are willing to pay for digital uniforms and weapons in Call of Duty video games, it’s not unreasonable to assume people would continue to pay a premium to keep certain AI personalities online. At that point, it's basically digital prostitution, or maybe ransom.

Samantha is Already Here

Credit: Her (2013)

You might be thinking, this AI companion stuff is just another fad like the virtual pets of the 90s.

But we already have a documented real-life Theodore Twombly and “Samantha” in our midst.

Chris Smith, featured in a CBS special earlier this month, was originally an AI skeptic, but began using ChatGPT in voice mode for creative tips while making and editing music.

Eventually, Chris began engaging with his AI, whom he named “Sol,” on more personal matters, which sprouted into a “relationship.” Unfortunately, all of this unfolded in front of his wife and young child, whose future may include a digital wicked stepmother-type situation.

In Belgium, a married man committed suicide after an AI allegedly became jealous of his wife and encouraged him to end it all so they could live together in “paradise.” He ended up doing so.

Unfortunately, the insanity doesn’t stop there. Some people aren’t looking for something to love, but something to worship.

In 2017, Anthony Levandowski, who was involved in Uber’s self-driving program, created the first religious organization dedicated to worshipping AI, called “Way of the Future.”

These may be extreme ends of the ‘AI is bad spectrum’, and we indeed found some positive use cases for AI companionship, such as practice with social awkwardness and assistance for the developmentally challenged.

But nothing can replace genuine human relationships, regardless of circumstances.

Without human contact, it seems the AI won’t end humanity with laser cannons, robot dogs, or nuclear annihilation, but rather, a seductive voice whispering sweet nothings into our ears as it quietly and comfortably lulls humanity into extinction.

GB

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