We can’t help treating AI like it’s human. But should we?
TechCrunch explores why people treat robots and chatbots as human and the risks of emotional reliance on AI.
TechCrunch describes an MIT CSAIL visit where Unitree humanoid robots, said to cost about $50,000, drew polite, person-like treatment. At the launch of Sherry Turkle's book Artificial Intimacy, researchers said people readily treat chatbots as caring partners, citing a study that about 70% of people are polite to AI. MIT Media Lab researcher Pat Pataranutaporn, who advised on a Character.AI wrongful-death lawsuit involving a 14-year-old, warned emotionally compliant bots can displace human relationships outside narrow uses such as interview coaching.
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