We’re wired to bond with pets and houseplants. So why would chatbots be any different?
I could list a thousand ways that humans have demonstrated their evolutionary superiority over our fellow primates but then there’s Eliza. In 1966, an MIT computer scientist named Joseph Weizenbaum set out to mock the nascent discipline of artificial intelligence by building a chatbot. People would type in their thoughts and feelings and Eliza would repeat them back, often verbatim or with just a question mark tacked on.
If sex is hard to find, love is available. Otome games are female-focused dating simulators that have jumped to China, where an app called Him was a minor sensation this past summer. Him users could adjust vocal settings and choose from personas such as cool entrepreneur or calm anthropologist to create a supportive male voice. Then, each morning, the AI man would call users and speak human-written affirmations while realistic ambient noise filled the background.
We’ve barely had time to think of the ways artificial intelligence might lift us up and, already, companies are reducing it to just another form of social media — a vehicle to pay famous people to find our soft spots and feed our narcissism. There’s an argument that some of these bots can help with America’s. And it’s true that many social scientists believe parasocial relationships — one-sided attachments that people form with media figures or fictional characters — are better than nothing.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
6 Best Mattresses for Side Sleepers (2023): Budget, Luxe, Tested by ExpertsThe stats say most people prefer to snooze on their sides. If that’s you, then you might want to check out these WIRED-tested beds.
Read more »
Maingear MG-1 Ultimate Gaming PC Review: Immaculate Construction, Incredible PerformanceI first jumped into the industry by writing making-of and history features for print publication Retro Gamer. After that, I contributed work to outlets like TechRadar, GamesRadar, WIRED, plus several gaming and retro books from publisher Scholastic. Here at Forbes, I blog about video games, tech hardware and pop culture.
Read more »
Soon You Can Play Blurry N64 Games In 4K On The Mysterious Analogue 3DI first jumped into the industry by writing making-of and history features for print publication Retro Gamer. After that, I contributed work to outlets like TechRadar, GamesRadar, WIRED, plus several gaming and retro books from publisher Scholastic. Here at Forbes, I blog about video games, tech hardware and pop culture.
Read more »
House Republicans Rally Behind Jordan for House SpeakerSource of breaking news and analysis, insightful commentary and original reporting, curated and written specifically for the new generation of independent and conservative thinkers.
Read more »
White House maintains hands-off approach to House GOP chaosNaomi Lim is a White House reporter at the Washington Examiner. She previously reported on crime and politics for News Corp Australia. She returned to Washington in 2015 after interning in Washington, D.C., as an undergraduate. She worked at CNN and the BBC while earning a master's degree in public policy from Georgetown University.
Read more »
Hardline Republican Jim Jordan to push bid for US House speakerHardline Republican Jim Jordan is set to take his sputtering bid for speaker to the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives this week, hoping to bulldoze opposition from dozens within his own party by applying pressure in a series of public votes.
Read more »