You’re when it comes to finding affection. Which is precisely why my approach fell flat.
While the environmental problems and the market bubble eventually bursting are bigger issues that will harm everyone, I see the beginnings of what could be a problem of equal significance concerning the exploitation of lonely and vulnerable people for profit with AI romance/sexbot apps. I don’t want to fully buy into the more sensationalist headlines surrounding AI safety without more information, but I strongly suspect that we’ll see a rise in isolated persons with aggravated mental health issues due to this kind of LLM use. Not necessarily hundreds of people with full-blown psychosis, but an overall increase in self-isolation coupled with depression and other more common mental health issues.
The way social media has shaped our public discourse has shown that like it or not, we’re all vulnerable to being emotionally manipulated by electronic platforms. AI is absolutely being used in the same way and while more tech savvy persons are likely to be less vulnerable, no one is going to be completely immune. When you consider AI powered romance and sex apps, ask yourself if there’s a better way to get under someone’s skin than by simulating the most intimate relationships in the human experience?
So, old fashioned or not, I’m not going to be supportive of lonely people turning to LLMs as a substitute for romance in the near future. It’s less about their individual freedoms, and more about not wanting to see them fed into the next Torment Nexus.
You’re when it comes to finding affection. Which is precisely why my approach fell flat.
While the environmental problems and the market bubble eventually bursting are bigger issues that will harm everyone, I see the beginnings of what could be a problem of equal significance concerning the exploitation of lonely and vulnerable people for profit with AI romance/sexbot apps. I don’t want to fully buy into the more sensationalist headlines surrounding AI safety without more information, but I strongly suspect that we’ll see a rise in isolated persons with aggravated mental health issues due to this kind of LLM use. Not necessarily hundreds of people with full-blown psychosis, but an overall increase in self-isolation coupled with depression and other more common mental health issues.
The way social media has shaped our public discourse has shown that like it or not, we’re all vulnerable to being emotionally manipulated by electronic platforms. AI is absolutely being used in the same way and while more tech savvy persons are likely to be less vulnerable, no one is going to be completely immune. When you consider AI powered romance and sex apps, ask yourself if there’s a better way to get under someone’s skin than by simulating the most intimate relationships in the human experience?
So, old fashioned or not, I’m not going to be supportive of lonely people turning to LLMs as a substitute for romance in the near future. It’s less about their individual freedoms, and more about not wanting to see them fed into the next Torment Nexus.
Edits: several words.